War of Chaos
by Trooper 3.6
Summary: The Heartless have returned and brought with them the legions of Chaos. In order to defeat them Sora and the others must seek help from the Imperium of man and it's greatest hero; Commissar Ciaphas Cain.
1. Chapter 1

Author's notes: Hello everyone. Here it is. This will probably be the greatest most epic of all my fanfics so far; even more so than Evil Dead Way of the Boomstick! This one is one for the millennium. A cross over fic between Warhammer 40,000 and Kingdom Hearts. You may think, there's no way that's gonna work! The worlds are too different, the final fantasy and Disney fun contrasts too much. Well that's the reason I love it so much, they are contrast but that's why I think it works. There so much cutsie cuddly crap in the kingdom hearts I it could use some down and dirty stuff and the warhammer 40k universe is so dark and gritty it could definitely use a dose of Disney and ff (excluding the obnoxious jpop of ffx2). Well here goes nothing, chapter one. Those of you familiar with the warhammer 40k universe will be glad to know that one of the main characters here will be none other than Commissar Ciaphas Cain and fans of Disney, don't despair; I will be including characters and worlds yet untouched by kingdom hearts. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or the franchises. Enjoy and please review.

Merlin paced around the table in his cottage. The table was set up for tea; a tea pot, sugar jar, and three cups and saucers on the table. Merlin puffed his pipe thoughtfully as dozens of scenarios and possibilities buzzed through his head, making it increasingly hard for him to stay focused on any one problem. The Heartless were back, to begin with. Their return is almost inevitable, which he well knew; as long as people of all kinds and in all worlds are capable of holding darkness in their hearts the heartless and the evil doers they inspire will eventually return to power. Merlin of course had accepted this fact long ago, when he vowed to fight the heartless wherever and whenever they emerge. Of course even he, despite his ability to see into the future, was unable to see them coming back so soon. It had been three years since Sora's victory over organization XIII and all had been quiet ever since. Merlin had only recently taken notice of the rapid expansion of the heartless' power and numbers.

Merlin had written a letter to King Mickey, warning him of the dangers emerging. The King replied his letter promptly, writing that he would begin taking defensive measures and asked to be informed immediately if and when Sora appeared again (as he was sure to). Powers at work would no doubt bring The Keyblade bearer back to them in their time of need. Merlin pondered whether or not he should have told King Mickey about his other main concern of the current predicament. Being that the Heartless' sudden growth of power most likely meant that they were drawing power from somewhere previously undiscovered by the King and his allies. Somewhere further away than any other but not out of reach; a world plunged so deep into darkness yet unconsumed by the Heartless.

Merlin was very distressed by this notion and was even more distressed by the fact that visions and premonitions he'd received recently had confirmed this possibility to be fact. Yet Merlin had kept silent about it, mostly because he had no idea what to expect from this world until the previous night when he received visions of Heroes, most brave, noble and mighty he had ever seen. But he had also seen visions of Villains, hideous, monstrous, yet cunning and vile! A world of ancient and new up and coming races of beings, some good some evil. Fallen empires demonic influences which continuously battled with strong and noble warriors for dominance of an entire galaxy; it was a world where heroes fight to sustain ancient dying ideals and vast empires which despite best intentions oppress and dominate their subjects with fanaticism and simple minded brutes run rampant causing bloodshed and unrest.

Despite all evidence to the contrary, Merlin was certain that the bravery and heroism of the good in this world still had hope to win over darkness and corruption which plagued it. He knew even the smallest speck of light could potentially help illuminate the darkest of places. Which was why he had decided, not only to inform his companions of this unfound world but to assist the heroes of this world; whom he knew would be arriving soon. Now all that was left to do was to wait for his companions and fellow conjurors to arrive. He had been living in the same cottage in Radiant Garden for nearly five years now and the old place had become as much a home to him as his cabin in the woods of medieval England. His neighbors where helpful and kept things interesting; a delightful switch, he thought, to the concealed solitude of his cabin.

Merlin fished his pocket watch out of his long blue robes and checked the time. He shook his head frustrated, "Where is everyone?" he grumbled. "They'll be arriving soon!" he insisted.

"Who? Who?" came the voice of Merlin's feathered friend Archimedes. The owl had climbed out of his small wooden bird house in the upper corner of the ceiling. "You keep saying that and I want to know who!" Archimedes insisted.

Merlin sighed and gave an annoyed glance up to his friend perched on the overhanging wooden frame of the ceiling. He was overjoyed when his companion finally chosen to accompany him in his new home in Radiant Garden, but as always in their friendship the two of them could be at odds. The two of them would often differ in opinions and what course of action to take and how to go about things. But on the whole Merlin was glad to have his friend and colleague with him, especially now that things seemed to look increasingly bleak.

"I told you already, Archimedes, I don't know exactly who!" he replied bluntly. "I only know that they'll be here soon! And that reminds me," said Merlin as he looked over Archimedes' head at the ceiling. He then grabbed two chairs from his table (thick cushioned chairs like his own) and placed them a few feet away from the edge of the table, looking up to the ceiling as if he were looking for some exact marker.

Archimedes looked up but saw no markers on the ceiling, he sighed and with a sense of nostalgia realized what was to come. He fluttered down from the ceiling panel and perched atop Merlin's large cushioned chair on the other side of the round table. Archimedes was confused that only three tea cups and saucers were set up, the good fairies, the fairy godmother, and Master Yen Sid were all coming, as well as Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, Tifa, Cid and possibly Cloud. The last of course was a long shot considering all Cloud ever seemed to do was brood and stare sadly into space in deep thought. Archimedes had previously joked that they should nick name the boy Hamlet, to which Merlin had a brief laugh but quickly rebuked the jest. Merlin knew full well what Cloud had been through. Archimedes knew as well, of course, but insisted that it was time the boy moved on. Especially on the grounds that the blue eyed brunette girl Aerith was most affectionate toward him, and Archimedes' keen senses had picked up on the passionate glances and jealous stares from the raven haired Tifa. "In his new life here they boy has increasingly little to complain about!" Archimedes had insisted. But in light of Merlin's revelations he knew that that may change soon.

"There now that should do," said Merlin as he finished placing and adjusting the two chairs. "They should be here anytime now."

Archimedes rolled his eyes. "Why only the three cups and saucers?" he asked. "The cottage will soon be packed with visitors!"

"I'm trying to make a good first impression to our guests," Merlin explained. "I want to assure them that they are our guests but not to smother them, it may feel awkward that they should find themselves at a table filled with people they don't even know."

"Ha!" Archimedes laughed. "Trying not to smother them in a cottage filled with over a dozen people!"

Now it was Merlin's turn to roll his eyes. "Archimedes need I remind you that these people are from a most savage and violence plagued world?" he asked rhetorically. "They may very well believe themselves to be trapped by a deceptive enemy and lash out at the first opportunity! I want to assure them they are our guests and that we have nothing to hide from them but also have a show of force!" he explained. "Which is why I was very insistent on Cloud being here with the rest, he may light up a room just by leaving it but he has combat skills that rival even Leon's and if the worst should happen we'll need him here. Though a part of me highly doubts that it will come to that."

"And just what makes you so sure of that?" asked Archimedes.

"Because one of our guests is considerably wiser than most of his profession and will no doubt be more likely to listen to reason," explained Merlin. "He also has a record of heroism and his exploits are well known to his comrades in arms. He himself is not nearly the paragon they perceive him to be but he is at heart the hero they see him as, though he himself doesn't realize it."

Archimedes rolled his eyes again. He never could understand how his friend could know so much about people from his visions and premonitions without learning their names. "You think you can make him realize it?" he asked with a sigh.

"Probably not," replied Merlin. "He's a headstrong one, he is. But I don't think I'll have to," he said. Merlin smirked to himself as he saw Archimedes silently sigh again. He knew he was being vague and that that drove his companion mad; but all work and no play… Just then the door of the cottage opened and in stepped Leon, followed by Cloud, Cid, Yuffie, Tifa and Aerith. They all greeted Merlin and Archimedes as they entered. Merlin welcomed them and asked that they gather around the table but to stay out of the two chairs and to give plenty of space between them and the chairs. The group were confused at this but cooperated.

"So, would you care to tell us what's so important I need to put off maintenance in the Gummy hangar and the virus scan for the mainframe?" asked Cid, slightly annoyed.

"Yeah Merlin," said Yuffie. "Let us in on it," she finished. The entire town had noticed over the past week how Merlin seemed to be more distant and even frustrated. None of them wanted to ask him what was wrong, knowing that if it was really important Merlin would tell them soon enough, but Merlin had kept so quiet about it for much longer than he usually did. Merlin inviting all of them to his cottage was a welcome sign for them all. Merlin seldom invited so many people to his cottage at once, except to pass on some important news.

"Is it about the Heartless?" asked Aerith with sincere concern.

"I'm afraid it is, my dear," Merlin answered. "The Heartless are yet again rallying their forces and will very soon make yet another attack on the worlds of Kingdom Hearts," he finished.

All were silent in the cottage. They all had hoped that they had done away with the heartless for good, or at least for generations to come. But it seemed at this point that the return of evil and darkness was all but inevitable. Everyone's face darkened and lowered with sorrow and foreboding; except of course for Cloud, who had entered the room with his customary look and tone of brooding, thus already had a sodden look on his face.

"What's your plan Merlin?" asked Cloud, breaking the silence. "Do you know where or when the Heartless will attack?" he asked, almost sounding hopeful for the information he wanted. No doubt wanting to charge recklessly into battle as he always does.

"I'm sorry my boy, but I'm afraid it isn't as simple as before, Merlin sighed as he prepared to break the even more bitter side of the news he had for the group.

"What do you mean?" asked Leon. The brown haired man looked as puzzled as the rest but maintained a certain reservation about him. Ever since the destruction of his world and the loss of the woman he loved Leon had been stern and cold most of the time. Keeping always ready to fight, sometimes jumping to conclusions. He still had a good heart but despite encouragement from Yuffie and the others he always seemed to keep his softer side within a hard shell of sincerity. Like Cloud he dressed mostly in black and carried a large sword on his back; though unlike Cloud's, this sword was also an enormous revolver pistol. Leon's military experience and personal strength and firepower were an invaluable asset to the team.

"I mean the Heartless have brought help," said Merlin plainly but with a strong sense of foreboding.

"Is it Maleficent?" asked a voice which seemed to appear behind Merlin from nowhere. Merlin turned to see the Fairy Godmother (a hooded old woman dressed in shimmering blue silver), Ms. Flora(a winged fairy dressed in red), Ms Fauna(a fairy dressed in green) and Ms Merryweather(a fairy dressed in blue) standing behind him; the latter of whom had asked the question. The rest of the group made a brief gasp but quickly calmed as they recognized the ladies and greeted them. Merlin was slightly annoyed at their insistence on arriving by materializing from behind people or otherwise from an unseen vantage point but he understood that surprise is one of the winning punches to magic and he himself had taken advantage of that very concept on several occasions.

"Most likely Ms. Merryweather," Merlin answered. "But I'm afraid there are much worse problems than her this time. The group shuddered.

"Worse than Maleficent?" asked the Fairy Godmother in disbelief.

"I'm afraid so," said Merlin, almost apologetically. "The fact is that the heartless have been gathering their power this time from another world," He began as he sat down in his chair at the table, across from the two other tea cups and saucers. Merlin thought to remind the latest guests not to sit in the other two chairs but remembering that he informed them that there would be two visitors in his message and that they by now should have noticed that none of the several others in the room had taken the seats, that that would be unnecessary. He took one last puff of his pipe then placed it down and told the group of what was coming.

"The Heartless; for years now, possible for longer than we've even been fighting them, have been gathering power from a world plunged into darkness. A world farther away than any other world in this multiverse, but not quite out of reach. This world is very old and has corruption literally in every corner. An overbearing Empire which both protects and oppresses its subjects. Ancient races which have twisted themselves into monstrosities, neither living nor dead. Insect-like monsters mentally linked to a hive mind with the sole purpose of killing and devouring. A dying race with highly advanced technologies trying to keep grasp on what little they have left in their latter years. A race of near mindless brutes that live only for the thrill of combat and danger, many of them finding any excuse at all to commit violence. And these aren't even the bad news!" Merlin paused to let his audience take in what he had just said. They all looked at each other in a mix of wonder and worry but remained silent.

"And what, Merlin, is the Bad news?" asked an elderly male voice. Merlin jumped in his seat and almost kicked the table. The rest of the group jumped in surprise as well, Leon and Cloud both grabbed the handles of their swords in unison. They all turned to see Master Yen Sid closing the front door behind him. "I'm sorry I'm late," he said with a slight smirk.

"Welcome Master Sid," Merlin sighed. Leon and Cloud let go of their swords and the Wizard came closer to the table, nodding to the greetings from members of the group. The elderly wizard was wearing his star and moon decorated hat, which he had once told an amusing anecdote to Merlin about; one which included King Mickey in his early days and his misguided use of magic which ended in a most amusing lesson and punishment for young Mickey. Yen Sid and Merlin had known each other for a long time. He didn't seem to be very different from Merlin as far as magic power; he was elderly like Merlin, though his beard was not snow white as Merlin's. But Yen Sid was actually older than Merlin and harbored much greater power than he; no one in the group, even Merlin, knew the true extent of his power. Despite this the two hadn't had any trouble getting along and working together, in fact the two of them held a mutual respect for each other. Yen Sid walked to Merlin's side and looked at him with approval. "You were saying?" he gestured for him to continue. Merlin nodded, wondering to himself if perhaps Master Yen Sid already knew what he had to say. Sensing the cocky grin on Archimedes' face without even looking, he grunted a sigh and continued.

"Yes, as I was say, the bad news is that this world contains a most powerful evil, a force more powerful than any the heartless had recruited before. A force which is aptly named…Chaos." The mere mentioning of this name brought an ominous sense of dread. Every face in the room cringed with uneasiness as Merlin named the evil force that was to invade their realm; every face except for Merlin and Yen Sid. "They are a force of otherworldly creatures; they are hideous, beastly, ruthless and murderous. Their bloodlust puts even the warrior brute race of this world to shame! They devote themselves to cause pain, terror and, ultimately, bondage and death (sometimes the other way around). Humanity in this world calls these creatures Daemons. The Heartless have made contact with them and have convinced them to bolster their forces and make an organized attack on the worlds of Kingdom Hearts."

"Oh my goodness!" shrieked Ms. Fauna. Similar gasps and shrieks were uttered by most of the group. Merlin was about to call his worried audience back to attention but was beaten to it.

"Everyone please calm down!" said Tifa, almost shouting. "Merlin wouldn't have called us here to tell us this unless he had a plan," she said, everyone in the room looked to each other in thought then to Merlin in question. "Merlin, I take it you DO have a plan?" she asked. "How will we fight them?" she asked, not waiting for an answer to the first. Tifa had long been known to be stubborn and heard headed but Merlin knew that it was because she had a strong will and that she meant no offense (as pushy as she could sound).

"Yes I DO, have a plan Tifa," Merlin answered. "And we CAN'T fight them, not alone anyway." The group looked unsettled again but didn't speak.

"Not alone?" repeated Tifa.

"You mean we will need Sora's help again?" asked Aerith.

"I'm certain that Sora will be joining us soon Aerith," Merlin answered. "But I'm afraid we will need more than just Sora. The forces of Chaos are vast beyond your imagination and they bring allies from this far off world, the insect like creatures and the ancient race of living dead I mentioned before. Their combined forces plus the forces we've faced before will be overwhelming in power and numbers. We will need a fighting force equally strong and dedicated in order to stop them. The forces of humanity and the eldar (the elderly race I mentioned before) have a long history of bravery in the face of Chaos and have many brave soldiers and heroes in their ranks and with all the interdimentional pathways being opened up as Chaos and its forces left their world and are coming into our realms many of these fine warriors have found their way here themselves. We must make contact with them and bid they join us in our war against the forces of darkness. It will be difficult to convince humanity to cooperate with the eldar but given one of our guests who should be arriving shortly we shouldn't have too much trouble at least convincing them to form a temporary truce in the face of their common enemy, even those mindless brutes (the orks) have been known to make such accords."

"Guests?" asked Leon.

"Oh yes, my boy, that's the reason for the two chairs and the tea," he said and motioned to the two cups on the table. "You see one of them is a ranking soldier, while not generally in commanding positions, he should have enough pull with the other officers among the human ranks and perhaps will even be considered as their acting commander. The other is a seasoned soldier, a skilled one, though not very bright. The two have been through much together and have formed a considerable trust between them. If we can reason with the officer, who should be here anytime, we can formulate an effective resistance to the Heartless and Chaos."

"Wait," Cloud interjected. "You mean the Chaos is already here?" he sounded legitimately worried.

"Some have made it to the worlds of Kingdom Hearts already," explained Merlin. "But not nearly all of them and those who have may or may not have even made attacks yet; more likely scouting parties sent to probe certain areas but not to attack. A considerable number of humans have, by providence, already arrived here and in worlds nearby. That is why I have called you all here today. We will soon make contact with the human forces, starting with our guests, and hopefully forge an alliance."

"Are you sure we can trust them?" asked Leon.

Merlin sighed. "Not entirely," he said. "But I'm afraid we have to try Leon, we truly don't have much of a choice in the matter. But have faith my boy, the Chaos are as much their enemy as ours."

"You keep saying they should be here soon, but no one else is here? When exactly are they supposed to be here?" asked Tifa.

"Well, I expected them here before you arrived actually but they should be along shortly," replied Merlin. Tifa opened her mouth, as if about to make an annoyed statement when a loud creaking noise came from the roof. The entire group looked up; the sound seemed to be coming from right above the two empty chairs. "Very shortly," said Merlin with a grin. With a loud crash the wooden beams of the roof gave away and two uniformed figures came crashing through the roof and landed safely on both chairs.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's notes: Hello everyone. I hope that you enjoyed chapter one. Well here's chapter two, some of you may want for some action, which the first one was lacking for but rest assured there will at least be some in this one. Now we will meet some of the valiant war heroes to come to Kingdom Hearts' aid. Enjoy and please review.

Commissar Ciaphas Cain awoke in a daze of blackness. His ears were ringing, his head felt several sizes too small for his brain and he felt an intense sense of motion sickness. He hadn't felt this way since he and his aid had crash landed in the dessert of the planet Perlia. Cain was even more disgusted as he remembered that very occasion and the dangers which followed. Slowly, the bell tower in his ears began to soften their carol and a blinding red light ignited nearby. Cain wondered briefly if he were dead and this light was the Emperor come to welcome him to the afterlife, but that theory was quickly rebuked as the ringing in his ears vanished entirely and first a familiar odor then a familiar voice greeted him.

"Commissar?" Cain's aid Jurgen called out to him as a shadowy outline of the young Valhallan came between Cain and the blinding red light. "Are you alright sir?" he asked. Cain blinked several times as much from the red light as his loyal aid's body odor.

"I have felt better, but I'll live," Cain replied.

"Know the feeling," said Jurgen as he fished something out of his coat pocket. A few seconds later another red flare light up in Jurgen's hand, much too close to Cain's still adjusting eyes for comfort. Cain winced, closing his eyes tight. "Sorry sir," said Jurgan as he realized his mistake and tossed the flare forward to supply additional light for the both of them. Cain had gotten use to his aid over the years; he may have had no imagination and little to no social graces, as well as an abhorring body odor and not a very handsome face to boot, but he had proven to Cain that he was a most loyal aid and a more than capable soldier (as all Valhallans are). Furthermore in light of the sudden and bizarre shift in events Cain was glad to have him nearby, despite the man's stench and clumsy lighting of a flare only a foot or two from his face.

Cain pushed himself into a sitting position and scanned the area as best he could. He felt cool breezes of wind and vast darkness surrounded him, mostly open space not illuminated by the flares Jurgen had thoughtfully elected to light, he could make out that the ground on which he sat was some kind of smooth hard rock; a dime blue in the light of the flares but Cain could tell from the tinge of the color that it would look brighter in more light. He looked up, it took him a moment for his eyes to adjust to the sky, with the flares blazing from beneath his gaze, but he eventually could make out stars shining overhead. The sky was clear, not a cloud, aircraft or orbiting ship to be seen. Cain returned his gaze to Jurgen.

"Any idea where we are?" he asked his aid. Jurgan's face twisted in despair, answering the Commissar's question.

"Was hoping you would," he answered. Cain sighed but despite his urge to panic he kept his composure. He thought back to the earlier events of the evening; His aid and he had been transferred to the planet Arcipelica some months ago, his job had been to keep moral of the troops up and ensure they do their duty. It had been a quiet war for a time, for which Cain had been truly thankful, but in light of his most recent mission he knew that things were about to get much more complicated and increasingly dangerous for himself. And as his self-preservation sense was ever active, he had quickly requested a transfer from the Commissar high command. He had just faired the General well and was about to climb aboard a shuttle to take Jurgen and him to an orbiting ship the ship the two of them off to another world in turmoil (not nearly so much as the one he was leaving, no doubt), when a loud burst of force had knocked Cain off his feet and the very next thing he knew he was laying in pitch darkness before Jurgen light the first flare. Cain hadn't the foggiest idea where he and his aid were at the moment but he was certain they were no longer on Arcipelica, which brought both relief and worry. On one hand he was, as he wished, off the Island laced planet (which he most recently discovered to harbor ancient temples and spiritual influences or the Chaos Daemon Nurggle), but on the other hand he could have potentially been anywhere. Cain felt a sudden rush of utter terror in the realization that he may very well have been carried by a Daemonic portal into the warp and now be sitting on a world home to nightmarish Daemons, who'd no doubt be making an appearance anytime now to curse him to an agonizing fate (most likely in the mistaken belief that his reputation of heroism was merited and wishing to cause despair to humanity by dragging one of its heroes to damnation). But Cain's sensible side overcame his terror relatively quickly. He resolved to wait more than five minutes and explore more than twenty yards of his new environment before he jumped to any conclusions.

"Look there sir!" exclaimed Jurgen as he jumped in surprise and in a fluent motion drew his lasgun (which was slung around his shoulder) and trained it in the direction of a red flare propelled into the sky about a kilometer away. Cain stood and followed the smoke glazed path the flare had taken to the approximate point where it had been launched from.

"Must be one of ours," said Cain.

"You sure sir?" asked Jurgen.

"If it were an enemy they wouldn't likely have given away their position to us," said Cain. Jurgen lowered his head slightly and shrugged. Cain figured they had seen the flares Jurgen had lit and were signaling for the two of them to follow their signal. Another flare went up as they looked in the direction of the first, giving them a more exact location of the source. "Well, let's get moving, wherever we are we'll need all the help we can get," said Cain as he started walking in the flare's direction, Jurgen followed immediately after. Of course walking off into the darkness of an unknown wilderness was the last thing Cain wanted to do but given the fact that more Imperial forces were obviously nearby he figured whatever dangers may lurk between them would be preferable if it meant facing these dangers with the chance of possible reinforcements then to simply wait in a wide open expanse till the two flares burned out and face the same dangers further away from help and in the dark. Fortunately, after a minute Jurgen fished a small illuminator out of his pack and attached it beneath the barrel of his lasgun (it was an attachment piece to the weapon), which allowed them to proceed with some illumination rather than stumbling through the dark, which Cain was grateful for on account of the sudden rise in the rock ground he nearly tripped on until Jurgen's lasgun attachment revealed it to him.

As the pair of them continued to traverse in the flare's direction a few more flares went up from the same point, which shed even more light on the landscape. No mountains or plant life for as far as the eye could see, only the continuous smooth rolling rock ground (which as Cain observed from Jurgen's lasgun light was, as he suspected, an ocean blue). Cain had never seen an environment like this one in all his years of traveling the galaxy. He came close to relaxing himself too much as he doubted that anything animal life at all, let alone anything particularly dangerous, could live in such a barren land but he'd learned long ago that life has a tendency to be stubborn and often fight through even the most grueling conditions, mostly by sheer ruthlessness. He prayed ravenously to the emperor that there would be no Necrons. The closer they got to the source the more clearly they could see it. By the time they were about 50 meters away from it they could tell it was in fact a costal patrol boat, much like the one they'd been passengers on barely a week ago and as they came even closer one more flare went up and Cain came to the slightly relieving realization that it was in fact the exact same boat they had traversed the Island chain of Arcipelica on; PB 109. With the light of the last flare Cain and Jurgen noticed that the crew of the boat had trained the boat's four heavy bolters on them, no doubt seeing their approach from far off thanks to Jurgen's illuminator.

"In the name of the emperor," Cain called out as they stopped twenty yards from the side hull of the boat.

"Hold fire," came the voice of the boat's skipper soon after. Another muffled order was heard and a bright light shone down from the boat's pilot house and shinned blindingly down on Cain and Jurgen. "Commissar Cain?" called Lt Don. "Ciaphas Cain? Is that you?"

"None other," Cain replied. The light went out a moment later.

"A rope ladder has been lowered ahead of you sir, come aboard," called Don. Cain gladly obliged. The sooner he was on an elevated position with heavy bolters and about two dozen men to hide behind the sooner he could rest with some sense of ease, not that he did not realize that at some point they'd most likely have to abandon the beached boat (minus the beach), and travel on foot in whatever direction they could deduct wisest. Cain ascended the rope ladder as quickly as he could, the familiar odor assuring him that Jurgen was following close behind. As he reached the deck a few dim red lanterns lit up on the pilot house, giving Cain a decent view of the two dozen mustached Vostroyan guardsmen crouched down in firing positions on the deck of the boat and manning the four heavy bolters, their already bright red uniforms blazing even brighter and their elaborate fur hats reflecting the light in fuzzy tinges. He also noticed a hand stretched out to him just in front and slightly above his head and noticed the familiar face behind it smiling with an appropriate welcoming spirit. Cain took Don's hand gratefully and with the Lieutenant's help hoisted himself up on deck. "Good to see you again Commissar," Don greeted.

"Likewise," replied Cain. Jurgen pulled himself up on deck with a faint thud.

"And, under the circumstances, it's good to see you to Guardsman," he said with a reluctant but generous nod to Jurgen, Cain figured Don never thought enough of his aid to remember his name.

"Sir," Jurgen replied with quick salute.

"What's the situation?" asked Cain, hoping doubtfully that Don might know anymore about where they were or how they got there.

"I was hoping you'd know," he stated apologetically. "We were off on a routine patrol, all of a sudden a strange pulse of some sort hit us; it knocked the entire deck crew off their feet and fried most of our electronic equipment, except for the lights of course. We found ourselves here in pitch darkness, we lit red lamps initially but when we saw your first flare light up in the distance we thought it might mean trouble, when we saw the second one far off we knew it must have been ours so we shot off flares to signal. We saw your flashlight coming and kept the flares going up every minute or so, we had plenty but only six left now; hopped it was more than just the two of you. How did you get here?"

"The same," Cain answered. "We were about to board a transport to take ups to a troop carrier ship when we were hit by a sudden force, knocked ups both over and awoke out there in darkness," he explained gesturing back the way they came. Cain was hit with a brief flash of annoyance when upon mentioning they were about to board the transport he realized his own kit bag was unaccounted for, unlike Jurgen who despite being charged with carrying it had his pack strapped to his back. Trying not to think about the flask of well matured Amesec he had bribed a servant boy to scrounge from the General's liquor cabinet and had placed in his kit bag with all his other personal effects, Cain quickly dismissed the thought and remained focused on the situation at hand.

"Damn!" grunted Don. "Any suggestions?" he asked after a moment's pause.

"It's your boat," Cain began. "But I'd advise we wait till daylight and get a better lay of the land, for starters. I take it all communications are down?" he asked.

"All except the vox sets," Don answered and quickly ordered one of his men to go fetch a pair of vox sets for Cain and Jurgen. The soldier rushed off and returned less than a minute later to hand the two of them the earpieces and mic sets. Cain and his aid accepted them with thankful nods and put them on. "Any idea what planet we're on?" Don asked hopefully. "We're definitely not on Arcipelica anymore, that's for certain."

Cain agreed; Arcipelica was a planet of thousands of islands spread across a global ocean, with no large land masses and very few islands any great distance from another. This planet seemed only a vast ocean of deep blue stone, smoothly sloping here and there. On this note Cain realized something about the ground he'd walked across to get to the boat and asked Lt Don if he could turn on the spot light again and have it make a few passes over the nearby grounds. Don nodded and gave the order, the ship's spot light shinned over the ocean blood landscape nearby and Cain's assumption about the ground was confirmed, Don noticed as well. The ground was solid, but looked exactly like an ocean! It was smooth surfaced but with slopes and dips in the same shapes as waves if frozen in time. As if an entire ocean hand been turned instantly to stone; not simply frozen into ice, which would have made for a much more frigid environment and done wonders for Jurgen's moral (him being a native of an ice world). "Golden Throne! In the Name of the Emperor! Fraking Warp! It's fraking impossible!" a series of curses and blasphemies erupted from the crew of the boat as they all came to recognize the site before them. An ominous breeze blew over the deck, Cain buttoned his black great coat; surprisingly grateful to whatever man thought it best to make black the official color of the Commissar profession, whom he'd cursed some time ago while marooned in a vast desert filled with greenskins.

"Where in the warp are we?" Don uttered gravely, Cain gave no answer. After a moment of silence Don turned to the pilot house and gave a cut-off hand signal, the spot light went out a moment later. The red light of the lanterns resumed. "Commissar?" Don began; his voice even graver than before. "You said, before, that the guardsmen on that island had been corrupted by the Chaos daemon Nurggle?" Cain repressed a sigh, he knew what Don was about to say, he had come to terms with that possibility earlier. "Do you think that this could be the work of Chaos? We might have been forced into the warp and transported to a cursed world within the eye of terror!" Don's voice was becoming frantic. "We could be…" Don's voice was elevating to hysteria, Cain acted quickly; he cut Don of with a swift backhand slap across his face then shifted his weight and pressed Don backward with his left arm pressed against his neck. He quickly forced him backwards until he'd pressed Lt Don against the hull of the boat's pilot house then drew his laspistol with his free hand and pressed it against the skipper's temple.

"Utter one more word and I swear I'll shoot," Cain growled to his captive. The clicking of weapon safeties warned him that the entire crew now had their lasguns trained on him, which didn't surprise Cain in the least; the Vostroyan First Borns look out for their own and given the circumstances and what they had all just seen he understood them taking offense to his actions. Don was clearly a good officer and cared for his men and even though a familiar aroma assured him that Jurgen was standing behind him with his lasgun trained on the nearest guardsman, Cain knew that it would not be in his best interests to execute Don; though Commissar protocol states that he would have been perfectly justified in shooting the Lieutenant right then and there so as to avoid a panic among the men and take command himself, Cain knew full well that it wasn't always as simple as the rule book makes it seem. Don shivered in Cain's grasp, his eyes were in sheer panic and he breathed in deep gasps which had a hint of whimpering to them. Cain knew he had to bring the skipper back to his senses and quickly. "Get a grip on yourself Lieutenant, and all of you!" Cain shouted for all to hear. "I don't know where we are, but raving about the possibilities like a lunatic isn't going to solve any of our problems!" he continued. "For one thing we haven't been attacked by anything; and we've definitely given our position away enough to be found without any trouble! Where ever we are and whatever lies ahead of us, we'll all have a better chance of surviving if we keep a cool head and work together!" Cain looked over his shoulder and noticed some of the men had lowered their lasguns and were muttering to the others to do the same. "We all have a duty," Cain continued, looking back at Don; who seemed to be calming down. "We live to serve the emperor, we are here and we are alive therefore we must continue to serve him here! If it is Chaos then we will meet them in battle and slay them just as sure as we'd face greenskins, or tyranids, or eldar, or even the Tau!" Cain had wisely elected not to mention the Necrons in order to keep his already strained wits in order, and assured to himself that by 'we will slay them' he meant that 'they' would slay them and he'd run for his life. "The Emperor protects," he said, softer but loud enough to be heard by all. "We will find a way out of this!" he said even softer, as much to sooth himself as Don. Thankfully, Don took a few deep slow breaths then shut his eyes and pressed his hands against his own chest, making the sign of the Aquila.

"The Emperor protects" Don repeated in whispers. "I'm sorry Commissar, it won't happen again," he said. "All hands lower your weapons," those who hadn't already, obeyed the command. "I submit to your authority Commissar, you are in command," said Don as he opened his eyes, Cain knew his wits had been restored; which consequently did wonders for Cain's own wits. Cain repressed another sigh and congratulated himself for the motivational speech he had just given; not his best by any means but it got the job done.

"Glad to have you back Skipper," said Cain as he let down his laspistol and pulled himself back from the Lieutenant. "But that won't be necessary, these are your men. As long as you're capable my duties have been fulfilled," he said. Cain did feel an urge to claim authority for himself but repressed it as he knew that Don had been serving with these men for some time now and it would be best for the men and him if he remained in an advisory position; for the time being anyway.

Don sighed, as if unsure of himself, hanging his head in shame. But after a moment's pause he nodded. "Yes Commissar, thank you sir," he said. "I'd appreciate any suggestions you may have though."

"For one thing it'd be best that we stay put till daylight," said Cain. "We'll be able to get a better lay of the land then. Judging by the terrain we should be able to see any civilization with our vision enhancers within walking distance from this elevated position, once the sun is up any way."

"You really think daylight will ever come?" asked Don.

"Most likely," replied Cain. "Unless this is some remote section of Mordia, in which case the Iron Guard should be here to relieve us any time now," he finished with a weak smirk. Don took the feeble joke for what it was and gave a brief and admittedly ill-deserved laugh.

"Sir!" cried Jurgen . Cain turned to see Jurgen tensed up and bringing his lasgun up to the ready position again, looking in the direction of the bow (front) of the boat; which was to the pair's right as they walked towards PB 109 across the stone ocean. The red clad Vostroyans situated to the forward half of the boat dodged out of his line of sight and turned the direction the Valhallan soldier was looking; realizing that the man had seen something beyond them. Cain followed Jurgen's gaze and saw it too. The Commissar didn't know whether to be panicked or overjoyed. The Vostroyans looked into the three pairs of oncoming vehicle front illuminators with an unsettling blend of shock, horror and hopeful relief. Three armored vehicles were closing in on the boat and were already within five hundred meters, the front illuminators of the vehicles were shining too bright to allow the guardsmen or Cain to see what colors they bore.

"All hands to battle positions!" Don bellowed, not willing to take any chances. Cain's initial instinct was to suggest the same but the words had gotten caught in his throat, he was almost as terrified as he was of the Necrons. The guardsmen all scrambled to business; the two forward heavy bolters swung their sights forward toward the oncoming vehicles, the rest ran to the forward deck and crouched or went prone on the deck and gazed down their sights at the three mysterious vehicles. "Hold your fire men," Don ordered. "We're within their range now and they haven't fired yet, let's pray they're ours." Don, like Cain, had recognized relatively quickly the vehicles were Chimeras. The question was, who's?

Cain was frozen stiff for a moment but snapped out of it when Jurgen asked if he was alright. He promptly shook his head and nodded to his aid and briskly walked up to Don, who had run forward with the rest of his men. Cain's nose assured him that Jurgen was by his side. The Chimeras stopped less than fifty meters from the bow of PB 109. Their illuminators remained lit but they didn't move and no one disembarked the vehicles for what felt like several minutes. Silence consumed the landscape, Cain was certain he could hear a bead of sweat drop; his own sweat. All three multi-lasers and heavy bolters were trained on the land locked patrol boat and two heavy bolters and twenty lasguns were trained on the Chimeras. Cain believed this is what they call a Catachan love scene (when two parties have weapon's locked on each other but don't shoot; a nock to the Catachans on account of the fact that that is as close to compassion that a Catachan could possibly manage).

"What in the warp are they waiting for!" growled Don to no one in particular. Cain thought for a moment and then he realized that the boat had no identifying marks to label it an imperial craft. Cain remembered there being a Vostroyan regimental standard perched on top of the pilot house the previous week but it had clearly been lost when the boat was abruptly transported to their current position.

"Don, can you have the spotlight shine on those Chimera?" Cain asked.

"Oh, right of course," he said and gave the order, as if ashamed for not thinking of that first. The spotlight turned atop the pilot house a moment later and shone over the three armored vehicles. The Chimeras were mostly a cobalt blue with white splotches here and there and a circular insignia on the multi-laser turrets; a red lightning bolt on a white field. Cain couldn't repress a sigh of relief. "Ours?" asked Don with visible jubilance that Cain's sigh was answer enough.

"Yes," Cain answered unnecessarily. "Armageddon Steel Legion," he said. Cain realized what they were waiting for and switched his vox set on and spoke into the open channel. "This is Commissar Ciaphas Cain, with Vostroyan PB 109."

"Captain Rosencrantz," a new voice greeted on the vox. "Company C, 339th," he continued.

"The Iron Heads," said Cain recognizing the regiment from his studies of the planet Armageddon and its long history of bloody conflict with the greenskins. "Good to have you with us, where ever we are." Captain Rosencrantz relayed a story very similar to Cain's and Don's; the company was out on patrol across a wide open field which was once the site of a famous defense against Ghazghkull Thraka and his Waaagh years ago, when a massive pulse shook them and they found themselves in the darkness with the stone ocean beneath their Chimeras' treads, they had seen the last of Don's flare earlier and proceeded with their lights out then after seeing the spotlight scan the area decided to make their presence known, bearing in mind that the heavy bolters and lasguns wouldn't be able to do too much damage to them and that their weaponry plus the twelve guardsmen inside each vehicle would be more than enough to handle the boat's crew if they'd turned out to be hostiles. The entire crew laughed with relief at the news that the new comers were fellow Imperials. Don switched his own vox on and joined the conversation, explaining his own almost identical experience to Rosencrantz. After Don had explained himself Cain repeated what he'd said to Don about waiting till daylight to make their next move, suggesting that they keep track of time and if twelve hours should pass and still no sunrise then they should make their next move under the assumption that daylight may not come. Rosencrantz concurred and volunteered that he should have his three Chimeras form a triangular defense around the boat to keep watch in case of trouble. Don agreed and offered to keep the heavy bolters manned for the rest of the night, letting some of the men relieve the others every hour. The Chimeras moved into their defensive positions and Don ordered the rest of the crew to get some sleep. The men all too gladly obeyed, Cain and Jurgen both found their own places to lay down and catch as many winks as possible; Cain insisted on laying as close to the pilot house as possible, where he'd be least vulnerable, he initially wanted to climb below deck but the thought it best to be as close to his personal meat shields as possible should any unwanted company arrive unexpectedly. Fortunately the night grew breezy and Jurgen was situated downwind of him.

Cain awoke to the relieving sight of a gently brightening morning. The planet's sun was rising from behind the stern (back) of the boat and much of the crew had already broken out breakfast rations and Jurgen greeted Cain with a ration bar. "Sorry sir, all I could find," he said, knowing the bland abysmally tasting bars were hardly to Cain's liking. But Cain accepted it gratefully and tanked his aid. Jurgen went on to explain that the night had gone quietly; he had woken a few hours earlier to stand a few watches at one of the heavy bolters and procure a ration for Cain's breakfast. Despite his obvious flaws Cain was, as always, glad to have his aid at hand. Another hour later at about mid morning Don ordered his men into formation on the deck; except for those manning the heavy bolters. He looked his men over and nodded his head that under the circumstances they looked about as good as they were going to get. After his brief inspection he left his men standing at ease and went to Cain for his opinion of what to do next. Cain wasn't sure he felt comfortable being looked to as if he were in seniority but understood Lt Don's hesitation to take full charge of his unit again after how he'd broken down the night before.

"For starters we should scan the area with our vision enhancers," began Cain. "See if we can find any structures or see any reflection of sunlight in the distances. I'll vox the Chimeras and have them do the same," he finished. Don nodded and pulled his vision enhancers out of a holster in his belt, Cain did the same. Don Elected to scan the horizons forward and left of the boat and that Cain should scan rear and right, Cain concurred and voxed the Chimeras to the horizons as far as their onboard vision enhancers could see.

"Roger that, Commissar," the familiar voice of Captain Rosencrantz answered Cain. A moment later the multi-laser turrets of the Chimeras started rotating in, scanning the horizon with confidence that anything unfriendly that was unfortunate enough to be caught within range of the turrets would meet a swift and abrupt end. Elevated a few meters above them the Skipper of PB 109 and Commissar Cain held their vision enhancers up to their eyes and scanned their lines of sight for any sign of life and/or civilization. Cain and Don scanned for several minutes but neither saw anything, Cain had situated himself on the right side of the pilot house and Don on the left; Don had ordered his men to sit down on the deck so as not to obscure either one's vision. Cain was growing tired of constantly swinging his vision back and forth from left to right and his arms were starting to ache from holding up his vision enhancers but he stubbornly continued praying to fine something.

Cain swung his view a bit further left than usual, almost overlapping his field of view with Don's, when he saw it, a glint of reflecting sunlight at the boat's two o'clock. He locked his eyes onto the flashing light and magnified his vision as high as he could, it must have been two or three Kilometers away; as best Cain could tell it was some kind of a triangular structure and not a very tall one, unless it lay at the bottom of a downward slope.

"Contact, two o'clock," Cain voxed to Don and Rosencrantz. Don was at his side seconds later. Cain quickly pointed it out to Don and the forward Chimera (the one which contained Captain Rosencrantz) acknowledged that the Captain could just barely make out the glint on the horizon. "Something's over there," said Cain, despite how unnecessary he knew it was to say so.

"Friend or for sir?" asked Jurgen at his side.

Cain gulped and lowered his vision enhancers. "We're about to find out," he said.

The three Chimeras rolled over the smooth waves of the stone ocean beneath them with relative ease, it was not nearly as disconcerting as speeding over sand dunes on Perila but not nearly as smooth and fluent as skipping over the waves of Arcipelica on board PB 109. Don was reluctant to abandon his boat but unless the stone beneath the flat bottom of the patrol boat suddenly turned to water there was no further use of the water craft; which, now that it was stranded on land and far from any known water was nothing more than an elaborate metal weapons platform. The heavy bolters were taken down from their rotating turrets and placed inside the Chimeras; which despite already containing twelve guardsmen each on the inside still had room for supplies, which was good because the crew of the 109 also loaded the reminder of the ration packs as well as a half dozen barrels of promethium into the storage space on the Chimeras. The crew of the 109 was all perched on the roofs of the Chimeras, with Cain, Don, Rosencrantz and Jurgen, as well as four other Vostoryans, atop the front Chimera. The three officers scanned the area as best they could as their Chimera casually rolled over wave after wave of the unique terrain, in the direction of the sunlight reflecting structure.

The structure turned out to be a few more kilometers away than Cain thought, it turned out that the structure was much bigger than Cain thought it was and as they came closer the structure became more and more clear, as did its location. It was a kind of a tower and Cain deducted that it was upper most part of a large fortress or palace; he also realized that it was at the bottom of a deep slope or a canyon. It had been a little over half an hour after the three Chimera convoy began its journey when the driver of the Chimera voxed to the Commissar and two captains that he had spotted a formation of guardsmen up ahead with the on board vision enhancers. Cain was surprised at this and brought his own vision enhancers up to his eyes, sure enough there was a column of Imperial Guardsmen up ahead and just in front of the edge of the slope in which the tower stood. Cain recognized them immediately from their uniforms, they were Cadians, and one of them he could see was waving a pair of read flares over his head; obviously they had seen them coming and were as glad to see fellow humans as Cain and the officers were. Don voxed the news to the rest of his men and the Legionnaires inside the Chimeras, to which they responded with a judicial but brief cheer. Rosencrantz was glad for reinforcements but grunted that he would prefer more of the Steel Legion. Don looked as though he were about to snap something back at the Armageddon officer but then sighed and turned away. Cain stepped in, not wanting any animosity between the few guardsmen he had at his disposal (hard to use one's soldiers as meat shields if they're constantly bickering among each other and measuring each other's genitals).

"We'd all love nothing more than the security of familiar faces, Captain," Cain said to Rosencrantz. "But right now we all need to work together, if we want to hold out any hope of seeing home and our comrades in arms again," Rosencrantz looked to Cain, as if he were suspecting a lecture along these lines from him. "We are all protectors of the Imperium, whatever planet we call home; all are the Emperor's domain and entitled to be respected as such," Cain said firmly but with the enough sympathy to show the Captain he was not trying to preach. Rosencrantz's face faded from annoyance to lamentation and then to faint regret.

"My apologies Commissar," he said with a slight hint of begrudging. "I meant no personal offense," he said in Don's direction but turned away so as to avoid further discussion of the matter. Despite his youth and obvious vanity to his own Guard unit, Cain took a liking to the lad. The three officers had conversed off and on throughout the ride and gotten to know each other a little better. Rosencrantz was about as tall as Cain and the same build, he wore a black helmet with the officer insignia stamped on the front and a bright kaki colored great coat (as is a trademark of the Steel Legion). He'd taken his gas mask and re-breather unit off, in light of the fact that he was no longer on his home planet and thus did not have to live in fear of breathing the toxic acidic industrial air of the planet's surface. He had a very plain face, blue eyes slightly pointed nose and pimples here and there on his face (a bi-product of being trapped in a gas mask for hours of his day on end).

The Captain had been born in one of the hive cities on Armageddon and by his teen years was the leader of a small street gang in the lower class sector of the city; though not as violent or malicious as many of the other bigger street gangs, Rosencrantz and his gang were tough and resilient and generally legitimately protected small shops and didn't ask much in return (contrary to most other gangs which extorted businesses for much of their income and gave little protection in return but for the assurance they wouldn't bludgeon the shop keepers to death), a band of recruiters took notice of the gangs actions and rather than allowing them to continue fighting off fellow malcontents and most likely getting themselves killed by a gang which actually extorted money therefore could afford smuggled weapons to kill off their competition, apprehended the boys and pressed them into service. After months of grueling training the boys were attached to their current company and sent out to a more remote area of the site where Thraka's last Waaagh had taken place to sweep for signs of Ork infestation. They had stumbled into a trap and were nearly whipped out, but Rosencrantz took up a fallen guardsman's melta gun, lured the greenskins into a narrow corridor and took them out several at a time until the few greenskins remaining fled. Rosencrantz and his fellow former-gang members were the only ones to return from the ambush and just in time for their air tanks to run out and had to be rushed inside an airlock. For his heroic actions Rosencrantz had been given a battle field commissioning and placed in charge of company C.

"Bully for Captain," Cain had responded to the story.

"Well played," Don had said reservedly but with the appropriate amount of admiration. His story was not nearly so glamorous. He had been the son of a wealthy factory owner on his home world and when his number came up to enter the service his father had initially tried to by his way out of it (which would have cost much of his family fortune) he changed his mind when Don had threatened to contact the recruiters on his own and enlist; not wanting to suffer the shame of his son becoming a lowly enlisted man, he instead used his finances to assure his son's commissioning. Rosencrantz had sighed disgusted at this but said nothing. Don either didn't notice the captain's reaction or had grown used to it. He went on to explain that his years on Arcipelic were his first tour of duty; he'd quickly outperformed the other Lieutenants and was promoted to Captain and subsequently assigned to PB 109, ending with that he took a sullen glance back over his shoulder.

"You're responsible to your men first," Cain had said, reassuringly. To which Don had given a weak smile and nodded.

The front Chimera stopped just a few meters in front of the guardsman holding the flares. Cain, the two captains and Jurgen jumped down from the roof of the armored vehicle and walked up to the guardsman who snapped off a sharp salute and held till all three of the officers returned it, he then turned sharply around and a to Cain's surprise a female officer stepped forward from the center of the three formations of Cadian guardsmen. Cain quickly looked her over, she was a brunette with her hair tied back in a short pony-tail and brown eyes, and she was a little shorter than Cain and slimmer build than Cain. Despite this she had a look of sincerity and toughness about her eyes and face, to which Cain knew to mind his manners and take her seriously; he could only hope the other two officers would do the same.

The female Cadian Lieutenant halted in front of the Cain and his companions and snapped a quick salute. "Morning sirs," she greeted. "Lt Mira 203 Cadian infantry regiment."

"Commissar Ciaphas Cain. Lt Don; Vostroyan First Born and Captain Rosencrantz of Armageddon Steel Legion, and my aid Gunnar Jurgen; Valhallan guard" Cain introduced his companions, gesturing to the all of them. The two officers gave polite nods and Jurgen snapped a sharp sincere salute.

"The Ciaphas Cain?" Mira asked with a hint of surprised. "The Hero of Perila?"

"The very same," Cain replied as plainly as he could. His mistake record of heroism had its uses, particularly with the ladies, but in the circumstances he hoped that the Lieutenant would not gawk or make much fuss about him; there were, after all, considerably more pressing issues at hand.

"It's an honor Commissar, particularly under the circumstances," she said with seasoned composure, before realizing she'd never returned Jurgen's salute, thus he still stood holding his salute; oblivious to how pathetic it made him look, she quickly returned it allowing him to lower his arm, with not too obvious relief to the Valhallan. Cain was impressed with her, he thought perhaps he may have become to accustomed to women shuddering at his presence and gaping at a hero of the Imperium; to which Cain had little objection but it did seem to distract him from the fact that there were a number of women in the Imperial Guard who were more than capable guardsmen and officers.

"Honor is all mine," said Cain. "Let me guess; you were on patrol or in combat somewhere and a sudden pulse knocked you all off your feet and you woke up somewhere near here in the middle of the night?" asked Cain casually. Mira's eyes widened with surprise and Cain knew he was on target. "It was the same for all of us," he said waving an arm to Don, Rosencrantz and the Chimeras behind them. Mira briefly explained that they had just fought off an Ork and Chaos invasion of a forge world, with the help of the Ultramarines, Blood Ravens and Black Templar Space Marines. It had been hours since their victory and Mira had just taken roll-call of her company when they were hit by a pulse of energy and awoke near the ledge of the massive canyon about fifty meters behind their formation. They'd spent the night on the ground, keeping a watch all through the night and at first light noticed the Castle and town at the bottom of the vast canyon.

Don and Rosencrantz excused themselves momentarily to form their platoons up on the ground, facing the Cadians, not wanting to give the impression they were laxed in the face of the Cadian guardsmen's profoundly professional formation. Don's Vostroyans formed up on one side of the front Chimera and Rosencrantz Legionnaires on the other. After forming their men up, the two officers returned to Cain and Mira. Mira lead the four of them to the edge of the canyon, it was a truly mesmerizing sight; as if the canyon walls had once truly been water then turned instantly to rock, and seemingly just instants before a massive flood would have whipped out the entire settlement below. Near the joining place of the two joining sides of the ocean blue canyon and at the bottom were a large castle and a town at its base. It was unlike any fortress Cain had ever seen; not alien architecture but awkwardly different and unorthodox the stones of the castle bricks were a pinkish tinge and Cain was satisfied that he was right about the tower they'd seen reflecting light really being the upper most tower of the castle. The town beneath the fortress was a basic but old fashion village of red shingled roofs, stone houses and shops as well as stone wall lined gardens around the castle; the village itself was built inside a stone wall which ringed around the castle. Part of the wall was cracked open and crumbled, as if some siege engine had made swift work of it. Water streamed through outlets in the walls and all contributed to as stream which flowed out into a vast wide field in the canyon, Cain estimated one could fit an entire army in the that field at the far end of the field, which seemed to stretch to the horizon there was an indentation in the ground as if either something had impacted there once or construction of a foundation for another castle had been started a but subsequently abandoned.

Cain returned his gaze to the town. "What do you make of it?" he asked Mira.

"Not sure, we've been watching them all morning; not too much activity, one young blonde haired man dressed in black and carrying a large sword of some sort was gazing out over the field from the wall earlier, he didn't seem to be looking for anything, looked more like he was meditating. A few minutes later I spotted a brown haired man also dressed in black and carrying some elaborate sword was on the wall; he seemed to be scanning the field and the cliffs, probably on watch. He didn't see us though," she replied.

"No other sentries?" asked Don. Mira shook her head.

"What about the town's people?" asked Rosencrantz.

"Nothing particularly abnormal about them," she replied. "You can see some of them walking to and fro in the streets. Doesn't seem like a very busy day, the streets aren't very congested, some go vacant for several minutes at a time."

"Any effort to make contact with them?" asked Cain.

"Can't get any vox contact," replied Mira. "Thought about sending squad in to make contact, but then I noticed," she paused and pointed to across the whole town. "No Chapel, no Imperial banners no seal of the Aquila, wasn't sure if alerting them to Imperial presence was a good idea Commissar," she finished. Cain could hardly argue with that, though he figured there were plenty worse crimes one could commit against 'him on earth' than not having a statue or banner dedicated to him on every wall of every building but Cain had learned to trust his own sense of paranoia and could hardly begrudge Mira hers.

Cain looked out over the village and castle with his vision enhancers. "They don't seem to be flying any Chaos or heretical banners," he said. "But of course that doesn't mean they aren't there," he continued thoughtfully. "I recommend we have a scout party scale the cliffs, make their way down there and recon the village." Cain looked over his shoulder to his fellow officers. They looked back at him agreeing but with no apparent enthusiasm to his plan. Don, after a brief awkward silence, evidently got wind that they'd been quiet for too long.

"I'll take my crew down there and scout the village Commissar," he volunteered. Cain nodded. With that, Don turned and walked toward his men.

"Care to go with them Commissar?" asked Rosencrantz. Cain and Mira both turned to him, with slight surprise. "Friend or Foe, the villagers may be moved by the presence of a 'Hero of the Imperium' besides a few shopkeepers could hardly be much threat to a platoon of Guardsmen with lasguns; a show of force alone may suppress any heretical thoughts in their minds, sir," the Captain finished. His tone was strictly practical but Cain could tell the man was covertly trying to challenge him, perhaps a return to the genital measuring he'd tried to start earlier. But then Cain knew that despite the wide spread praise of his 'heroic' actions across the Imperium, there were always rumors that his reputation was ill-deserved; none that had any proof of this or even intended for any other purpose than the annoyed grumblings of holonews watchers annoyed at the constant reporting of Cain's exploits and in their annoyance insisting that Cain couldn't possibly be THAT great a hero. At times Cain himself would grow tired of the press coverage but he had no problem reaping the benefits of them. In the current situation, he couldn't allow himself to be made to look like his reputation was anything but spot on; despite the increase in numbers the guardsmen's spirits were still strained to the breaking point and he knew that now that he'd been called out about it, refusing participation in the scouting party was not an option. Cain silently cursed the captain.

"Wouldn't miss it," Cain replied, as if he'd been waiting for a chance to get into the action. "Lieutenant, have your snipers cover us as best they can and both of you be ready to give us support fire if need be," he said. The two officers nodded. Cain wasn't worried about leaving Rosencrantz in charge, despite his insistence on playing the masculine competition game, Cain was certain he'd read the Captain well enough to know that if came back from this venture alive he'd earn the man's respect. Also Cain couldn't help but notice a glint of admiration from the Lt Mira, which didn't give him pause by any means to go join Lt Don. Without a word, Jurgen followed.

Descending the deep blue cliffs was slightly disconcerting, but Cain had experienced much worse in his day. The Steel Legion guardsmen brought repelling lines out of the front Chimera and tied one end of all the lines securely to the hull of the armored vehicle. They were able to run five lines over the edge and all of them just barely stretched to the bottom. Five men at a time, starting with Cain, Don and Jurgen in the first group, lowered themselves down swiftly but with control. Mira's handful of snipers kept a careful watch on the wall and towers for any watchful guards or civilians, but spotted none. Within ten minutes the entire scout party were on the ground and making their way swiftly but silently to the breach in the wall, taking one of the repelling lines with them in case needing it inside the village. Upon reaching the wall Don ran a vox check on the entire crew, Cain acknowledged the check then called in to guardsmen above, Rosencrantz and Mira both acknowledged and Mira assured him they were clear to enter through the breach. "Roger that," Cain replied and drew his laspistol, Don and the other guardsmen checked their own weapons, a series of clicking noises assured Cain they were all locked and loaded. Cain gave Don the hand signal to move in immediately the Lieutenant and two other Vostroyans scaled the rubble and found their way to a stone walkway, which lead to a cross section of the wall which over looked the main habitory section of the village. Cain and The rest of the scout party followed and made their way through to the cross section, Cain and Jurgen situated themselves in the middle of the semi-column. They looked out over the edge of the wall and scanned the houses; all red roofed and seemed to be well kept, only a few of them seemed to be home to more than one owner or family, it was a very pleasant prospect compared to Cain's early days in an over-crowded hive city with hab-blocks filled with crime and unrest.

"Commissar look!" Jurgen exclaimed, not too loudly. Cain was surprised at Jurgen; he seemed to be going white in the face and was pointing frantically in the direction of a small shop in the streets.

"What is it Jurgen?" Cain asked. "What do you see?"

"Afraid you'll have to see it to believe it sir," replied Jurgen. "Not entirely sure I believe it myself. Jurgen had surprisingly keen eyesight, which Cain couldn't help but envy on occasion. Compelled mostly by curiosity Cain pulled his vision enhancers out of his great coat and peered in the direction Jurgen had pointed. Don and the Vostroyans waited, crouched along the stone railing of the wall, for Cain's response. Cain didn't know whether to be horrified or dumbstruck at what he saw but he understood why Jurgen had taken such shock to this site. It was a family of white feathered bird-like creatures, they appeared to have webbed feet; such species of birds were common on most planets capable of supporting life and generally called 'ducks'. Normally this would be no surprise to anyone, considering a small rive flowed, seemingly, out of the castle, through the village and out into the vast field, what was shocking as that the birds seemed to be sentient; there were four of them, the biggest was clearly a parent figure to the three smaller ones, they were all wearing clothing! The biggest was about as tall as a child and wore a blue suit jacket, a pair of glasses and a black top hat and also had a beard-like growth of feathers under his bill betraying advanced age. The smaller ones were all roughly the size of infants but wore sport caps and T-shirts, each one a different color; one wore blue, another, red and the other green. They seemed to be working and running a small wooden set-up shop in a small square in the village street. Cain could tell from the way they moved their beaks that they were speaking some kind of language but was too far away to make out what they were saying.

"What the Frak?" Cain was eventually able to gasp as he finally pulled his eyes free of his vision enhancers.

"What, Commissar, what do you see?" asked Don with sincere concern.

"See for yourself," Cain answered. "In the small square over there," he said and directed Don's gaze to where the shop and duck-like creatures were. Don fished his own vision enhancers out of his great red coat and looked for himself.

"What the Frak?" Don gasped after almost thirty seconds of shocked silence.

"What in the warp are those things?" asked Jurgen to no one in particular.

"Whatever they are, they don't look particularly dangerous," remarked Cain. Don still looked flabbergasted but nodded in agreement. "Let's get a closer look though shall we?" Cain asked rhetorically. "Me, Jurgen and five men will climb down to the roof tops and get a better view of the locals and, if necessary, make contact. Don, you and the rest stay up here and cover us if the worst should happen."

"Yes Commissar," replied Don. "I'll have about ten of the men make their way to the next cross section of the wall over there," he said pointing to the parallel stone wall cross section about fifty meters across the habitory section of the village. Cain nodded. On Don's order ten of the Vostroyans broke away from the team and made their way back to the defensive wall of the town and could be seen running along the wall and then, after scanning the area, crouched down into defensive positions along the edge of the cross section. Cain made his way down the line, with Jurgen following quickly after. Jurgen and he jumped across a narrow alley to the adjacent rooftop and when the Vostroyans made it down to the roof below them Cain voxed them, telling them to take positions on the rooftops along the walls while he and Jurgen went in for a closer look. They acknowledged and spread out along the wall side rooftops as best they could, which gave them a relatively good view of the main street which passed through the habitory sector.

Cain and Jurgen crept across the roofs quickly and quietly, Jurgen never ceased to amaze Cain with how quiet he could be when he needed to. Cain was worried at first that his aid's body odor alone would give away their position but he found Jurgen's familiar and battlefield tested company infinitely more reassuring than the Vostroyans, Cadians or Steel Legionnaires. Fortunately the streets of the town were mostly empty and the few passersby below them were too busy with other businesses that they could not be bothered to look up. Cain were at about the center of the neighborhood and were walking carefully along another red shingled roof like all the others but as the two of them stepped into the central part of the roof they both froze as they heard a creaking noise, a moment later the two of them felt wood cracking under their feet. "Fraking Warp!" Cain half growled and half gasped. Moments later the roof gave way under their feet and the pair of them fell crashing through the ceiling of the house. Cain wasn't certain if he'd had time to scream in shock and surprise but wasn't certain he'd have time to care either. To the surprise of both men, neither of them were injured in the fall; both of them felt themselves landing on strong wooden cushioned chairs, luxury items to guardsmen who'd been in combat zones for most of their careers. Cain and his aid had both been winded in the fall and took a moment to catch their breaths and dust themselves off before even fully noticing where they were and the small crowd of shocked people around them.

"Ah, so you did drop in for tea!" exclaimed a friendly voice from across a round table, which Cain had just started to notice. Cain looked up to see an elderly man with a large white beard and tall pointed blue hat looking at him welcomingly, as if he'd been expecting him. "You are a bit late you know?" said the elderly man. Cain looked around the room his aid and he were sitting in. The room was filled with people; standing beside the white bearded man was another man with a dark brown beard and a similarly pointed hat (this one with a pattern of stars and moons), scattered all around the table were different people, there was an old woman in a sky blue robe with hood, three other old ladies with strange pointed hats, a scruffy blonde haired man in some kind of mechanic's uniform, a younger blonde haired man dressed in black clutching a large sword in his hand, a brown haired man in black doing the same, a young girl with short black hair who seemed to be standing in some kind of hand to hand combat ready stance, a taller young woman with long black hair and also seemed to be prepared to fight and A young woman with brown hair dressed in a pink and red (the last three Cain didn't mind in the least). They all either looked shocked or on their guard, unlike the two elderly men in the room they clearly were not expecting company. Cain searched vigorously for the proper words to offer in the situation and after a moment of fumbling through his knowledge of the human language he finally found the words he was looking for.

"What the fraking Warp!" he asked as calmly as he could manage.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's notes: Hey everyone. Sorry it took so long for this one but I've been busy with school work and technically still am but I know this story has great potential and I really want to keep my fans. Now we will be meeting more of our heroic cast of 40k characters and I hope that you signed on for some action, because you're about to get it. Enjoy and please review.

Captain Titus awoke to the sound of his ears ringing, he squinted and looked up. The lights in the passengers' compartment were on and Titus could see that the craft must have crash landed. The four Black Templar tactical marines were all lying on the deck, unconscious, and his captor Inquisitor Thrax moaned a meter away from him. Titus turned his attention to the Inquisitor.

"Are you alright sir?" he asked. Thrax laboriously helped himself to his feet, Titus followed suit.

"Well enough, Captain," replied Thrax. The inquisitor scanned the compartment himself and evidently came to the same conclusion as Titus. "What happened?" he almost demanded. "Were we shot down?"

"Was hoping you'd know," Titus answered. "I came to just now." Thrax looked at him thoughtfully.

"I was under the impression that the Orks and Daemons had been annihilated," he began. "I don't suppose you'd have any…microbe of an idea what's happened to us?" he asked suspiciously and openly reached for the chain sword on his belt.

Titus sighed; he couldn't entirely blame the Inquisitor for his suspicion. After surviving that fall off the orbital tower (impossible even for a Space Marine), not to mention the fact that he seemed to be invulnerable to the powers of Chaos, he understood how odd things looked and in the wake of a failed Chaos invasion he knew one couldn't be too careful. But after all he'd suffered and all the countless enemies he'd slain and it being he, himself, who slew the leading Chaos Sorcerer Nemeroth (who'd orchestrated the entire invasion) and stopped another warp gate from opening with an even larger invasion force behind it, he also couldn't help but feel betrayed. One of his own, an Ultramarine, had reported him to the Inquisition as a Heretic.

Leandros was a brave and upstanding space marine, but his inability to think for himself and overzealous insistence of following the codex to the letter without room for even adapting strategically to a situation with a harmless bending of the rules had blinded him. Despite his heroic actions, Leandros was convinced that Titus' contact with Chaos energy must have bounded him to the will of Chaos. Titus had no choice but to submit to the authority of the Inquisition, otherwise he would have shamed the Ultramarine Chapter, compromising the Imperium high commands' trust in the Chapter, and Lt Mira and her guardsmen who'd vouch for him would have been arrested as heretics. Titus would sooner suffer persecution himself than allow his Chapter or those whom he protected and fought beside to suffer in his stead. He was escorted onto the shuttle to be taken to an orbiting capital ship, the shuttle took off, then all went blank and he found himself laying face down on the ground beside Thrax.

"I give you my word, Inquisitor, I do not know what has happened to us," said Titus with solid sincerity.

"Your word and everything about you, Captain, is highly questionable at the present time," the inquisitor retorted. Thrax kept his hand on the hilt of his chain sword but did not draw it. The two of them stared each other down for what felt like several minutes. Titus remained still and composed, Thrax held his stance as sure as if he were a stone statue.

"I have submitted myself to your authority," said the former Ultramarine captain. He spread his arms as if open to an embrace, to show he had no weapons on hand (his bolter, bolt pistol and chain sword having been confiscated shortly after boarding the shuttle). "The decision is yours, Inquisitor," he said. "If you are so certain this is my doing, then you must do your duty," Titus knelt down on both his armor clad knees. "Only in death, does duty end," he quoted before closing his eyes and lowering his head.

Thrax was taken aback and somewhat moved at Titus' actions and words. These were not the actions of a heretic but of a brave and loyal warrior of the Imperium. All indications from Leandros' report insisted that Captain Titus was at least a carrier of chaos taint, if not a willful heretic marine under the influence of the Chaos gods. For a moment Thrax was certain that Titus was innocent of heresy, but the inquisitor quickly expelled that thought from his mind. It was much too soon for him to make such a conclusion, he was well aware of the cunning and deceit of Chaos. But seeing as how Titus had ignored a chance to overpower and kill him he decided to give him the benefit of the doubt…for now.

"Stand up, Captain," ordered Thrax. Titus opened his eyes and looked up to his captor. His eyes were calmed but not quite trusting yet. Titus decided that it would have to do for the time being and rose to his feet. Soft moans and metal scraping metal alerted captor and captive both that the four unconscious Black Templar space marines were coming to. "First of all," said Thrax. "Let's get a look outside and see where we've landed.

It only took a minute for the other four space marines to pull themselves together. Thrax hit the command rune to open the shuttle door and the blinding light of day shone into the dimly lit passenger compartment. The six of them disembarked the shuttle and peered around their new, peculiar surroundings. It was clear to all of them almost instantly that they were no longer on the forge world they'd just left. The ground was deep blue and smooth; it seemed to stretch for miles in every direction and not a factory complex to be seen. Titus didn't know what to make of it. If it were the work of Chaos they probably would have been ambushed already. Titus figured that fact must have occurred to Thrax; otherwise the older man probably would have made an accusation of some sort already.

Titus strode to the other end of the shuttle to check on the pilot and co-pilot, both were dead. The impact of the crash had been too much for them, unlike Titus and the other five who had the benefit of not only being dressed in power armor but genetically enhanced as well. Titus closed his eyes and placed his hands over his chest in the sign of the Aquila and said a quick prayer for the both of them. After he was finished he opened his eyes and sensed a glint of light to his left. He turned his gaze and could see a triangular structure in the distance, not much more than a kilometer away. He looked back over his shoulder to see the other five behind him and looking the direction he was. They saw it too.

Within minutes the six of them had closed much of the distance between the crashed shuttle and the structure. Despite the heavy armor suits the space marines could move much faster than any ordinary humans. As they ran Thrax followed closely behind Titus, the four Black Templar's keeping up with Titus, two on his left and two on his right. They were an odd formation. Titus in his bright blue Ultramarine armor between the four Black Templar's; the same model of armor, only they wore helmets and their armor was jet black all over except for the white of their shoulder armor. The grey haired Inquisitor Thrax wore golden power armor and wasn't quite as tall or well built as the other five but had not trouble keeping up and as an, inquisitor, could be counted on to hold his own in combat.

After only a few minutes of running they came to a deep ledge overlooking a vast canyon with a castle and town at the bottom, the upper tower of the castle being the triangular structure they noticed. The canyon dead ended not very far behind the town but opened up into a vast field which stretched as far as the eye could see. The eye sight of a space marine is far better than a normal human but two of the Templar's slung their bolters, drew their stalker bolters (much like a standard bolter, except fitted with a sniper scope and designed to fire only semi-automatic) and began scouting the settlement below them. One gazed across the vast field, the other scanned the town.

"Might be ours, Inquisitor," said the Templar scanning the town. "I've spotted two formations of guardsmen on the walls of the town, they're armed with lasguns and appear to be wearing Vostroyan First Born uniforms," he finished.

Titus squinted, trying to get a look for himself. He had never served beside them before, but their reputation for loyalty and courage was well known. He could see them but couldn't make out any details. What worried him, and he knew would worry the Inquisitor, was the town didn't look like an imperial settlement; not just the strange architecture but there was no chapel in the town, not even seal or banner of the Aquila…anywhere.

"Can you make out any imperial banners or a building that might be a converted chapel?" asked Thrax. The Templar scanned the town over thoroughly.

"No, sir," he replied.

"We can't see the entire village from here, Inquisitor," Titus insisted. "They may have their chapel marked from another direction or marked more subtly. There's more to faith and loyalty than waving flags around and singing hymns," he finished. The Inquisition had a habit of shooting first and asking questions later on occasion and given the circumstances Titus hated to think that he may be about to witness the slaughter of an entire village of imperial subjects just because they didn't wave flags or mark their chapel more distinctively (which wasn't unheard of).

"Be that as it may, Captain. We have just found ourselves crashed on a strange planet and now we have stumbled upon a town occupied by armed guardsmen, who aren't flying imperial colors," explained Thrax. "Now we need to practice caution."

"Contact!" called the Templar scanning the field. "Green skins in the open, they're heading for the town!"

Titus immediately looked in the direction the Templar was pointing his weapon. They were a ways out but there was sure enough a band of about one hundred Ork boys and five Nobz charging toward the settlement. They were less than a kilometer out and closing, they hadn't given their customary war cry yet; which meant they were either smart (by Ork standards) or waiting till the last minute for maximum terror effect. The Orks' infamous war cry "Waaagh!" was purely animalistic but was the last sound heard by many space marines, guardsmen and unsuspecting civilians. One ork could scream loud enough to deafen a man but war band of them shouting their war cry together could cause the very ground to shake.

"We need to do something," said Titus. "We should move in and intercept them!"

"Stand your ground space marines," Thrax ordered. "We don't know whose' side the settlement is on."

"The orks are attacking!" Titus bellowed. "All of humanity is subject to the emperor, what more reason do we need?"

"You have your orders, Captain," Thrax ordered sternly and fixing him with a stare that would pierce the hull of a battle barge. The inquisitor turned his attention back to his two marines with stalker bolters. "Keep scanning the town, do not fire on the green skins without my order," he said.

Titus was furious, he'd just saved an entire forge world from green skins and Chaos daemons and now he was being forced to watch from safety as a war mob of orks slaughtered an entire settlement of unsuspecting humans, armed with little more than a squad of guardsmen to protect them! Titus could not allow this to happen, even if Thrax had him executed on the spot afterwards. He had seen the shambled remains of human settlements after being run into the ground by orks; every building torn apart, every human being slaughtered (men, women and children) armed or unarmed, it did not matter to the green skins. The orks like their kills done with melee weapons, they'd wield large swords and huge axes (choppas, as the orks called them) which would tear through muscle and bone alike. They would slash their foes to pieces long after they were dead and claim trophies from their bones, teeth and skulls.

Titus had once moved with a squad of tactical marines to rescue a village, on some remote planet, from a rogue band of orks pillaging the planet. They'd arrived too late to stop the attack, but soon enough to see the way the orks waged war. The entire population of the town (around 200) had been slaughtered. He'd heard a child scream and ran into an alley between two rows of wooden huts just in time to see an ork warrior pick up a small girl, cowering in terror, and crush her with its' bare hand. The green skinned beast dropped the lifeless lump of broken bones and blood soaked skin and tissue to the ground, the corps' child face unscathed by the monster's death grip but frozen into a twisted expression of agony and horror and staring nightmarishly into Titus' eyes.

Titus was young at the time and had never faced such horror at the time (and would face countless more such incidents in the century before he'd be commissioned as an officer). He was frozen momentarily in shock, but was soon brought back to reality as the ork boy (their name for their basic warriors), laughed heartily to itself over its victory, relishing in its triumph over a creature so much smaller and weaker than itself; not having noticed Titus, who stood in horror behind it. The young space marine was filled with righteous vengeance and with a roar of furry he sprinted forward hurdling himself in the green skin's back. The ork and he crashed into the blood soaked mud with an earth quaking impact. Titus let his bolter slip from his fingers; he had something special planned for this one. He pelted the back of the orks head with his armored fist, to further disorient the creature. He then rolled the ork onto its back and placed his knees on both its' shoulders pinning it down, as long as it remained disoriented anyway. "So ye fink yer da best do ya?" Titus asked the ork loudly, mockingly aping the aliens' language. The ork blinked and seemed to be getting reoriented, good; Titus wanted it to feel this. Titus clenched his armored hands in preparation before digging his thumbs into the green skins' eyes, clenching its' skull and gripping harder and harder. The ork wailed at the top of its' large lungs, its' cry deafening Titus even with his helmet on. But the young ultramarine clenched harder and harder still, roaring with rage louder by the second. After over thirty seconds of clenching and squeezing the orks skull caved and exploded like a grape in a gush of blood and brains, coating the ultramarine's blue armor and helmet in red. That was the first ork Titus had ever killed and it would only the first in a multitude of green skin corpses.

Titus looked down upon the, soon to be ransacked, settlement. No, he could not allow it to happen to them, not while he had an ounce of life left in him. The fact that the Black Templar's had taken all his weapons away didn't help to calm his furry. Then the coin dropped; they had taken his chain sword, bolt pistol and bolter but they never thought to inquire about his combat dagger, he'd forgotten it himself earlier, having not used it since shortly after his landing on the forge world Graia. Titus drew his combat dagger with his right hand and raised it into the air, clenched in his fist.

"In the name of the Emperor!" he roared at the top of his lungs and lunged forward. He fell like a brick to blue ground bellow and landed with the impact of a Leman Russ battle tank. He quickly pulled himself to his feet and sprinted all out toward the town, it being too late to overtake the war mob before they reached it.

Neither the space marines nor the imperial guard, both situated on opposite sides of the canyon overlooking the settlement, had spotted each other. Both were positioned so that the high spire of the castle obscured each other's line of sight just enough to conceal both groups from each other.

It had been over twenty minute since last vox contact with Commissar Cain, Lt Mira was getting worried. Cain's exploits were well known and many believed him to be invincible, but Mira knew from her experiences that no one was invincible, even the Adeptus Astartes (space marines) were vulnerable at times. Captain Titus was the first space marine she'd ever met face to face and was filled with a renewed hope upon his arrival on the forge world Graia. Her hopes were rewarded when he and his two squad members destroyed the orbital defense cannon the orks had commandeered and turned on the orbiting imperial ships, cutting off her supply and reinforcement line. It was Captain Titus who slew the ork warboss, defended the Titan Invictus and protected her and her men from an onslaught of heretic guardsmen and Chaos space marines. He even slew the Sorcerer who perpetrated the Chaos invasion and miraculously survived a fall should have killed him. When last she saw him, he looked so vulnerable and was deeply hurt by the betrayal of his subordinate, Leandros. The things Leandros had said about him…they couldn't be true! Captain Titus was the most courageous and virtuous man she'd ever met, and all of her men would agree with her after all he'd done for them on Graia. She'd have given anything to have him here on this strange world with her.

"What the bloody warp is taking them so long?" asked Captain Rosencrantz to her left. He'd been scanning the town with his vision enhancers since the scout party entered the town, just as she had with her own, and not a single transmition from them since.

"Most likely trying to be subtle," Mira answered.

"To the warp with subtlety," Rosencrantz grunted. "They couldn't be armed, you said yourself the only sentries you spotted were armed with swords and if they weren't Astartes they couldn't possibly be power swords," he insisted. "This cloak and dagger waiting game is only holding up progress. If their heretics we slay them, if not they tell us where we are and give us whatever we need."

Mira was taken aback by the captain's harshness and impatience, but she calmed herself and remembered that he was an Armageddon guardsman, they were recruited from gangs in the hive cities underground and forced to fight for their lives against green skins on a daily basis in a most deadly environment. For them equipment and weaponry would need to be quickly properly prepared at all times, not to mention the Armageddon Steel Legion was a famed mechanized infantry division, which meant that more often than not they'd have means to get where they needed to go in relatively little time, so Mira could hardly blame him for being frustrated with the slow pace of the situation.

His brutish attitude towards the civilians of the settlement could be understood as well, given the desperate conditions of his home world and the dangerous urban industrial society. On Armageddon, the comfort of the people is only secondary to the guards' ability to hold the lines and keep the manufactorums up and running. If the orks penetrated the lines and ransacked a hive city, there would be fewer workers for the manufactorums and if the orks took over and/or destroyed a manufactorum it would set the planet's quota behind considerably. Armageddon was a forge world where all number of war machines were built for the Imperium's war effort; Leman Russ battle tanks, Chimeras, Basilisks and even Baneblades were produced on Armageddon, entire battles were fought between man and orks inside massive manufactorums as armored vehicles slid down assembly lines, lasbolts and ork gunfire denting their hulls, before they were even completed. The entire planet's surface was checkered with manufactorum complexes which, over the centuries, had caused the planet's air to grow so smoke filled and acidic and killed almost all plant and animal life. No one could survive on the surface of Armageddon without a chemical suit and gasmask…other than the orks of course.

Mira decided it was best to just let the captain vent for now, she'd been repressing her own frustration and terror since she'd awoken in the darkness of the previous night, she could hardly blame him for such irritated out bursts. She turned her attention to her sergeant behind her.

"Have the men stand easy, and break out some rations," she ordered, remembering that Rosencrantz had mentioned a supply of ration bars in the leading Chimera. It had been a long night, her men hadn't eaten since the previous day and her squad of snipers had the town square in their sights; if anything did go wrong they'd know to cover the commissar and the vostroyans.

"Yes ma'am," the sergeant replied with a sharp salute, which she returned without too much formality. The sergeant turned and marched off in the direction of the Chimeras. As he moved she was given a clear view of the horizon of blue grounding meeting light blue sky, back the direction the three Chimeras came from. It seemed peaceful enough at first but then something caught her eye, some dark figures forming on the horizon. She squinted but couldn't quite make them out; they almost appeared to be bobbing on the horizon. A flash of terror swept over her and she brought her vision enhancers up to her eyes. She looked in horror as a swarm of slavering Tyranids charged across the blue landscape, gnashing their jaws in anticipation for the meal that lay in front of them.

"Tyranids! Company to arms!" Mira shouted at the top of her lungs. Her company paused in utter surprise at first then turned to see the oncoming horde of insect like aliens and instantly rushed to their combat positions; Mira had laid out an line of defense in case of an enemy assault earlier in the morning. Captain Rosencrantz was immediately at her side peering through his own vision enhancers.

"You heard the Lieutenant!" He bellowed to his own men over the vox. "Form a battle line alongside the cadians battle line, Chimeras turn 180 degrees, prepare for Tyranid assault!" The guardsmen obeyed all too willingly. The Tyranids were well known and feared throughout the galaxy. The Tyranids were large insect like creatures, which invade planets in spores passing through a planet's atmosphere and implanting their native ecosystem on that planet. Their sole purpose was to maim, kill and otherwise advance their own species across the galaxy. They were all connected to a hive mind throughout the galaxy, a nightmarish intelligence with only to things on its' mind, survival and evolution.

The brunt of the oncoming tide of twisted hideous creatures were Termagants; man sized creatures with long angular bodies and razor sharp teeth and claws, but they were armed primarily with Fleshborer bio-weapons, living guns which fire tick-shaped borer beetles which, once fired at an enemy, would spend the rest of their frenzied existences burrowing into their targets…eating them alive. At the forefront of the oncoming horde of flesh-eating monsters was a thin frontline of Hormagaunts; which looked much like the Termagants but armed with six scythe-like claws instead of ranged bio-weapons, like all Tyranids the Hormagaunts heads and backs (all the way up their tails) were covered with a thick armor of purple pigmented scales. To the rear of the line of encroaching doom were two Carnifexes (enormous living siege engines with massive claws and nearly impenetrable scale armor) and a Hive Tyrant (an equally large serpent like creature, which directs all Tyranid forces in proximity). The Hive Tyrant was armed with a massive Bonesword and a Venom cannon (which fired deadly corrosive crystals).

There were at least a thousand Tyranid closing in on the six infantry squads and three Chimeras, about 70 guardsmen in all. The guardsmen had acted quickly, the three Chimeras turned to position themselves facing toward the Tyranids; training their heavy bolters and multi-lasers on the them. The three ten man squads of Steel Legionnaires took up positions in front of the middle Chimera and between the two beside it, the Cadians lined up even with the front Armageddon squad; Mira combined her three squads into two, having them crouch in front of the other two Chimeras. Captain Rosencrantz took up position with the middle squad in front of the middle Chimera. Mira joined him, bringing her snipers along with her. Then it occurred to her that she hadn't voxed Commissar Cain about the situation yet.

"Commissar, this is Lt. Mira," she said into her vox set. "We're being attacked by a large wave of Tyranids, requesting support," she said, fully aware of the irony that it was them on top of the canyon who were suppose to be supporting him.

"Little busy at the moment, Lieutenant," replied Cain, not sounding at all pleased. The Tyranids were getting close now, sprinting across the landscape at fascinating speed (rather it would be fascinating if it weren't for the fact they were coming to kill the Lieutenant and every living thing in sight. The Tyranids were in range now, their insect cries and gnashing teeth now deafening, but Mira was certain she could hear another, familiar, war cry coming from behind them.

Captain Rosencrantz drew his chain sword and drew his bolt pistol. "Company, open fire!" he bellowed into the vox channel. The rag-tag Company and trio of Chimeras unleashed a hail of lasbolts and bolter rounds into the oncoming wave of death. Burning rays and tracers ripped into the swarm of Tyranids like the wrath of the Emperor. The thin formation of Hormagaunts leading the charge were cut down first, lasbolts and searing into their eyes, claws and flesh, bolter rounds penetrating into their bodies and then exploding from within. The guardsmen knew not to bother with short bursts for accuracy, in the time I'd take to line up an accurate shot the Nids would over run them; the guardsmen spayed the oncoming monstrosities on full auto, each and every one of them silently praying frantically to the emperor for protection and strength.

Mira fired her lasgun furiously at the Tyranids and Rosencrantz fired his bolt pistol two handed, pulling the trigger rapidly, ejecting the spent clip and quickly reloading to continue firing almost continuously. Mira couldn't help but admire the man's cool composure and stead hands on his weapon; bolt pistols were originally designed with space marines in mind, they were bigger, heavier and more powerful than the standard issue laspistol most officers carried. Rosencrantz handled the weapon as though it were light as a feather, years of experience against the green skins on his home planet giving show.

Mira paused to reload her lasgun and something zipped past her at the speed of a lasbolt and shot into the face of one of her snipers. The Cadian guardsmen fell to the ground on his back and started flailing in agony. The Termagants had started firing their Fleshborers at them. Mira yelled for a medic and knelt beside the guardsman, who was screaming in pain and ripping at his left cheek, where the borer had hit, with his bare hands. Mira watched in horror as the tick-like beetle lodged in his cheek began to burrow deeper into his face, working towards the guardsman's brain, the young man screamed even louder. The medic arrived; pushing past the Mira and producing a heavy pair of tweezers form his medi-pack. Mira, not wanting to see what was to transpire, turned back to the enemy and finished reloading her lasgun before opening up on full auto. Guardsmen all over the line were dropping from borers, some we lucky enough for the projectile insects to impact their armor (or great coats, in the Steel Legion's case), which would by them some time to continue shooting at the rapidly closing in Tyranids , at least until the alien beetle at through their armor and into their skin. Lasbolts, bolter rounds and borer rounds passed each other and collided in air. The three Chimeras' gunners were wise enough to coordinate a joint effort in targeting one of the Carnifexes and under the constant fire of the high powered laser cannons, the Carnifex tumbled to the ground writhing in anguish. The other Carnifex charged past it without even pausing. Mira and the rest of the Company continued to spray the swarm furiously. In a matter of seconds the Tyranid swarm would collide with the Imperial guards' line.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's notes: Hey everyone. Sorry about the long wait, been busy with a bunch of stuff. Enjoy this next chapter and please review.

"Leon, Cloud, put away those weapons and stand back right this instant!" demanded Merlin. The two young men slowly slung their swords over their heads and sheathed them, they both continued to eye the two intruders with suspicion as they backed away. The two intruders, now sitting in the previously unoccupied chairs at the other end of the tea table seemed to relax bit; both lowered their own weapons.

Merlin had never seen weapons such as these before. They appeared to be fire-arms, which Merlin had seen plenty of in his inter-dimensional/cross-time travels, but their designs were unfamiliar to anything he had ever seen. The intruders were clearly military men, as Merlin knew they would be, the one in the black great-coat with the fancy cap was obviously the higher ranking one and the dirtier looking (and smelling) fellow in the khaki uniform with garrison cap was either a basic infantry soldier or the officer's aid.

"My apologies, sir," said Merlin to the officer in black. "I told these men that I was expecting you, your entrance merely shook them up a bit." Both soldiers turned their heads to Merlin; they both seemed as shaken as Leon and Cloud. But then everyone in the room was shaken, even Merlin couldn't deny that he was nervous about the outcome of this confrontation; the safety and freedom of multi-verse was depending on him convincing these men (or at least the officer) that he and his companions were not his enemy and that it was their duty to help stave off the heartless.

"Expecting?" repeated the officer.

"Oh yes," replied Merlin, trying to sound cordial. He was beginning to feel nervous; he wasn't sure how to explain his knowledge of the man's arrival without sounding suspicious. He knew that officer's world was plunged in hysteria over demonic influence and would not be trusting of a man a supernatural ability to predict events to come.

"Very little happens in this world without my knowledge, sir," he assured him. Hoping that the officer would deduct (for the time being, anyway) that he had a means of monitoring the events of the world through technology or an intelligence network.

"Oh! Forgive me for not introducing myself, sir," Merlin said with a brief laugh. "My name is Merlin. You've already met Cloud and Leon," he said and motioned to the two. Both the young men gave brief nods but did not soften their faces. Merlin went on to name all the others present, Merlin was relieved that Fairy Godmother had deducted the need for some subtlety and interrupted Merlin to tell their two guests just to call her "Godmother."

Merlin was growing more concerned that perhaps this wasn't nearly subtle enough. Perhaps Archimedes was right after all, again. Merlin was also relieved that Archimedes remained silent, though he had a feeling his feathered friend would grow annoyed in the coming conversation and open his beaked mouth at the worst possible moment.

"Commissar Ciaphas Cain," the officer introduced himself. "My aid, Gunnar Jurgan," he pointed to the soldier in the chair to his left. "Where exactly are we?" he asked, after a moment's pause to scan the entire group once more.

"You are in the fortress of Radiant Garden," replied Merlin. "In my house to be more specific, and don't worry about the roof. I'll have someone fix it later."

"That'll be me again right?" grunted Cid. Merlin ignored him.

"That's all good and well, sir," said Cain, also ignoring the mechanic. "But what planet are we on? And where is the nearest Imperial outpost?" Merlin was afraid of this question but knew that time had come to explain the situation.

"More important than what planet," Merlin began. "Is what world?" Merlin went on to explain to the Commissar and his aid that the two of them were no longer in their galaxy, or universe for that matter. He briefly explained that there are many universes and that when the proper doors are opened (usually by chance or fate) people may cross over into the other universes. He was explaining that this is what had happened to him when a loud crash sent a wave of fear through most of the group, except for Leon and Cloud; who simply drew their weapons again and braced for attack by the new intruders. Six men armed with more strange looking fire-arms and wearing elaborate red coats had kicked in the front door and filed in with their rifles at the ready. They formed themselves into a line and trained their weapons on Merlin and the others.

"Commissar, are you alright?" asked the man at the head of squad, who had an insignia on his fur cap which indicated to Merlin that he was an officer. "Why didn't you respond to my vox?"

"It's alright Don," Cain replied. "Just fell through a weak spot is all. My vox set must have fallen off when I landed," he said before scanning the floor momentarily and picking up a small earpiece with a microphone attached to it. He placed them on his head and turned back to the newcomers. "It seems we've found our way to the leadership of this settlement," he said and nodded toward Merlin. Don looked Merlin over.

"If he's in charge, he should call off his dogs," suggested Don with a glare toward Cloud and Leon.

"Cloud, Leon, I won't say it again!" Merlin snapped. Both briefly looked at Merlin as though he had lost his mind. A moment later they both sheathed their swords and stepped back. Don lowered his rifle and ordered his men to stand at ease.

"I apologize for the two of them," said Merlin. "The lads mean no harm, surely you can understand the defensive impulses of soldiers," he finished.

"Perfectly," replied Cain, with a glance toward Cloud and Leon. Cain could tell the lads were only acting defensively. But the entire conversation had rattled Cain to the foundation of his mind. If what the old man was saying was the truth, and he was fairly certain it was. Then somehow or another, the guardsmen and himself had been abducted by some unknown force and taken into another universe. Such things were said to only lead to within the warp. But this place didn't fit any of the accounts of chaos worlds in the imperial archives. The story seemed to add up.

Cain was also certain that if the old man's story was too straight forward and bizarre to be a lie. If the old man were an agent of Chaos forces, he would have come up with a less fantastic story. The ecclesiarch would insist that such an inter-dimensional portal could not possibly lead anywhere but the warp, but Cain always did have a natural skepticism of organized Emperor Botherers. He decided to give the old man the benefit of the doubt.

"You say we are all now in a separate universe from our galaxy now?" said Cain, fighting with all his wits to be sound calm and composed. Merlin nodded. Don and the five Vostroyans gasped. "Do you know of any way we could return to our own world?" he asked trying to repress his urge to sound hopeful. Showing weakness would not be helpful at the time.

"Not at the present time, I'm afraid," Merlin answered. "Your world is much farther than any other from this one. The simple fact that powers that be have brought you this far alive is miraculous!"

"What powers?" demanded Don. "Do you people conspire with the forces of Chaos?" he nearly shouted and brought his rifle back up. Cain saw the two lads clench their fists but, thankfully, did not draw their weapons. Cain could tell that this old man had the best understanding of his current predicament. He was Cain's best hope of returning to the Imperium.

"Calm down, Don," Cain ordered. "There's no proof of that." Merlin opened his mouth to say something in response to the Lieutenant.

"Chaos is a much our problem as it is yours," the lad named Leon broke in. "Chaos is coming. And they aren't even just here for us, they're after all the worlds of Kingdom Hearts! You all know what Chaos is; they will kill all of us and destroy everything. They're the enemy, not us!" he glared across the room in Don's eyes. Don was silent, Cain's heart sank. He had just pulled strings in the administratorum to get away from Chaos and now he'd been delivered, by some divine force, directly into the path of a Chaos invasion force. Cain wondered if "Him on Earth" even knew the truth of his reputation for heroism.

"Chaos is coming here?" asked Cain, rhetorically.

"I'm afraid so," replied Merlin. "We believe that is the reason why you have all been brought here to us," he explained. "We cannot fight the forces of Chaos on our own. We do not have the weapons or the numbers to organize a resistance against them. Even if we combined the forces of all the worlds of Kingdom Hearts we couldn't stand a fighting chance against them. But you could, Commissar."

"I can see the reputation of the guard precedes us," said Cain, trying to keep his composure. "We have little more than a hundred men with us though, sir," he explained. "I'm afraid as we are, we could hardly hold off an entire Chaos invasion force."

"Oh, you and your party are not alone, Commissar," replied Merlin. "Many others of your… Imperium, have been transported here as well, and to other nearby worlds too," Merlin explained, to Cain's visible relief. "We have mastered a way to build ships to travel from one world to another. We could easily construct multiple ships or even treat some of your own to travel the vast void between worlds. No doubt the forces of Chaos have done so by now. If you are able to rally all of your forces together, we may be able to fend off Chaos and, I might add, if we should defeat Chaos, you may find a way back to your own world." Cain knew there had to be a catch in it somewhere and this was the golden throne of catches. Part of him was suspicious of it, but he was certain he'd read the old man well enough to know this wasn't a bluff. It seemed the only why home was through a fleet of Chaos.

"Commissar, this is madness!" Don insisted. "How is any of this possible?"

"How it is possible is not important, Lieutenant," Cain snapped. "It IS happening and these people and… whatever their xenos companions are, need our help."

"Commissar you can't be serious," insisted Don. Cain knew it was time to act his role.

"As it happens, I am," said Cain as he stood from his seat. Jurgan followed suit. Don looked at him in shock. "Our prime mission is the protection of the Emperor's subjects, all humanity are subject to his protection. As for these strange xenos creatures residing with them, if they show no signs of hostilities we will allow them to stay." The shock faded from Don's face, understanding that Cain had authority in due to the lack of contact with the Imperial high command.

"With respect Commissar, I must express my objection to this," Cain looked at him with a glare of authority.

"Your objection is noted, but Imperial protocol dictates that I have seniority and I declare this fortress to be under martial law. We have a Chaos invasion force on the way and these people have a means to help us rally our forces and prepare," he explained. Merlin's face twitched in slight shock at Cain's declaration but said nothing. The other civilians seemed distressed at the notion of being under martial law as well and slight murmuring could be heard among them. Cain stepped closer to Don. "If Chaos is able to travel to this world the way we did, they obviously aren't traveling via the warp. Fighting them is our best chance of getting back to our own world," he said with slightly softened authority. Don lowered his head in thought for a moment, and then looked into Cain's eyes.

"Yes, Commissar," he said. "I submit to your authority."

"Good," he turned to Merlin. "Well, Mr. Merlin, you wanted our help. You have it," he said. "But I'll need your cooperation and obedience. Yours as well as your subordinates," he shot a sincere but anger-less glance at Cloud and Leon. Merlin's face fell. Whatever 'help' the old man was expecting from Cain, it became clear that martial law wasn't it.

"You are correct sir; we can defend you and your people from chaos. But the only way we know how to do so is OUR way," he explained, his voice softened. "And I will need supreme authority in this war effort to do so. Nothing happens without my say, and you must tell me everything you know."

"We accept," said the elderly woman in blue, the one who introduced herself as Godmother. Cain took it she'd earned the title as a position of reverence and respect. The entire group of oddly dressed civilians looked at her in shock. "We do not know this enemy. The practical thing to do right now is to listen to these men and accept whatever help they have to offer," she finished. Cain decided that he liked her. Practicality is quality which Cain rarely found, with the exception of line officers.

"She's right Merlin," said the other old man, the one with a thick brown beard. "Logic dictates we should take their word. They were brought here for a reason," he finished. Merlin paused in thought. He had the look of a man, fully conscious of the fact that his position of authority was about to be compromised, and rightly so. Cain could tell the man wasn't a particularly ambitious man or a forceful one. But his wisdom and position in his community, seemingly operated well and despite his willingness to ask for help he seemed to doubt that giving complete control to Cain was the best idea. Cain, with respect to his own paranoia and skepticism about the competence of most appointed over him, couldn't blame the man. Merlin stood and looked Cain in the eyes.

"Do I have your word that all non-combatants in this war will be protected?" he asked. His composure re-established. Cain nodded.

"You have my word. And I will need you close by; you have knowledge of this world and all the others. You will be my liaison to the civilians and personal advisor. You will answer to me and to me alone," Cain promised. Not that he had any intention of neglecting to recruit civilians into guardsmen units or to allow the old man any real authority. But he recognized that such a gesture would put him at ease and that having someone in his cabinet who knew the lay of the land and what to expect in the neighboring dimensions would be an invaluable asset. It also helped to know that the two soldierly young men in the room would be more cooperative now; two more soldiers at his disposal would mean two more armed men for him to take cover behind when the lasbolts started flying.

"Very well then," said Merlin with somber sincerity. "We all submit to your authority Commissar Cain."

"You've made the right choice sir," Cain reassured him.

"Just plain Merlin if you please, Commissar," he replied with a repressed sigh. Cain took it the man had been addressed as sir before and found it irksome.

"Merlin it is then," said Cain. "Don, contact Captain Rosencrantz and Lieutenant Mira, tell them the situation and…" Cain was cut off by a burst of vox static.

"Skipper, Commissar!" the voice of a Vostroyan guardsman burst into Cain's ear. "Greenskins! Dozens of them! They're closing on us from the north; they're almost to the wall!" Cain and Don were both silent for a brief second.

"Frak," was all Don could manage.

"Platoon, take defensive positions on the wall," Cain ordered. "Prepare for Ork assault!" Cain turned to Leon and Cloud. "I hope you two know how to use those swords," he said as he drew his bolt pistol and placed his other hand on the hilt of his chainsword. The two young men looked at him in question. "Orks," he said turning to Merlin. "I need all of your help to get all civilians indoors immediately," he turned back to Leon and Cloud. "I need the two of you to direct me and my men to the main gate right now," he ordered.

"Wait, what are Orks?" asked one of the girls, the shorter one with dark hair. Cain looked at her, dumbfounded at first, but shook his head when he remembered that he was in another world.

"You'll know them when you see them," he replied. "The two of you, lead us to the gate," he ordered. "The rest of you get the civilians and xenos to safety." Cloud and Leon wasted no time in heading for the door, Cain and Jurgan followed them with Don and the five other Vostroyans filing out behind. The two young black-clad soldiers drew their large swords as they lead Cain and the others down the street. Cain and the others had to strain themselves to keep up with them. Cain was relieved that the two of them were in shape and if the size of their swords were any indication of their strength, Cain was confident that they would be most useful in handling the Orks; especially once it got to the point of melee combat. Cain looked up and saw the Vostroyans moving along the wall in the direction of the main gate and to the two landings overlooking the main gate. They were forming a kill trap. It may not do much good once the melee began but it was better than nothing and having the high ground would at least buy enough time to riddle the Greenskins with lasbolts. Cloud and Leon rounded another corner then stopped dead in their tracks. The main gate was about fifty yards ahead and the thick wooden doors splintered into sawdust as the mighty green fist of an ork boy plowed through it. The ork stopped in its tracks, others shuffled in behind it and Cain couldn't help but quiver as it raised its war axe.

"Commissar, this is Lt. Mira," Cain's vox set chimed. "We're being attacked by a large wave of Tyranids, requesting support."

"Little busy at the moment, Lieutenant," replied Cain, so terrified he had hardly heard a word she'd said. The ork boy took a deep breath. Cain braced himself for the war cry.

"Waaaaaaggghhh!" the ork began, his companions behind him joining in.

The Chimera on the left end of the Imperial line exploded with a blast from the Hive Tyrant's Venom Cannon. The blast knocked over several guardsmen, many of whom wouldn't be getting up. Mira turned back to the onslaught just in time for a Termagant to plow into her, knocking her to the ground. She looked up to see a the barrel of the Tyranids weapon pointing into her face, an instant later one of her men ran screaming into the Termagant, burying the bayonet of his lasgun deep into the skull of the insect xenos. The beast heaved backwards and fell limp to blue ground.

All around her soldiers were firing wildly into Tyranids at point blank range and stabbing at them with bayonets. She saw Captain Rosencrantz swinging his chainsword do on the head of a Termagant, gradually splitting its skull to the teeth. He then turned to fire his bolt pistol into another Termagant, which had stopped to take aim at him. He fired five times into the beast's chest and face, each bullet exploding after penetrating. The Termagants headless body fell to the ground.

Nearby, a group of three Armageddon guardsmen charged side by side into a Termagant, firing into a group of Cadians, their bayonets forward and held close together. Their speed was impressive and the force of their impact knocked the Tyranid over. They drew their rifles from the beast's exoskeleton and proceeded to continuously spear the downed xenos' body multiple times; determine to make sure it didn't get back up. Then one of the three was hit in the face by a Fleshborer, knocking him on his back. The guardsman writhed in pain and clawed at his masked face wildly; the borer having penetrated into the flesh of his face and burrowing deeper by the second. A hail of lasbolts from the nearby Cadians ripped into the Termagant; the Cadians took revenge for their fallen comrade. Then a Hormagaunt charged into the line of Cadians, crushing a few and lacerating several others as it flailed its razor sharp scything talons.

"Are you alright ma'am?" asked the guardsman standing over Mira, who had turned to empty a clip into a charging Hormagaunt after saving her. The guardsman held a hand down to Mira but before she could reach up to accept it she was showered with a spray of blood. A Hormagaunt and ran its claws through the guardsman's back, impaling him. The Tyranid then dragged the guardsmen to the ground and began eating him ravenously. The guardsman hadn't had time to start screaming until he was pinned to the ground.

Mira strained every nerve in her mind to push herself to her feet and pick up her lasgun. The chaos of the battle seemed distant to her. She slightly staggered when another crystal fired from the Hive Tyrant's Venom Cannon harmlessly thudded to the ground ten yards behind her. The driver of the Chimera had thoughtfully reversed the vehicle at the last moment. She pressed the barrel of her lasgun to the head of the Hormagaunt, which was so occupied with eating its prey that it did not notice her. She opened fire on full auto, perforating the Tyranid. She emptied a full clip into the creature, she roared with vengeance for the guardsman who'd saved her life and ran her bayonet into the monster's carcass twice, for good measure.

Mira looked up, her face burning with animal rage. The second Carnifex was charging straight at her. She was didn't feel fear, only the burning rage of the battle. She knelt, took aim and squeezed the trigger, not realizing she had forgotten to reload. Captain Rosencrantz leaped in front of her, firing his bolt pistol and bracing to swing his chainsword into the gigantic Tyranids head. The bolter rounds didn't seem to be penetrating. The Carnifex was only yards away. Rosencrantz readied his chainsword for an upward thrust, when a rapid stream of lasbolts tor into the face of the charging behemoth. The bolts penetrated its skull and reduced its brains to a bloody mess, the Carnifex slid limp to the ground; stopping at Mira and Rosencrantz' feet.

The two officers looked at each other in shock and awe at their survival. Rosencrantz turned and gave a grateful nod to the gunner manning the Chimera's multi-laser behind them. Mira cursed herself for forgetting to reload, and did so. Fleshborers zipped past the two officers and the both turned to return fire to a group of Termagants, which had circled around the other side of the dead Carnifex. One Termagant fell, then another. Then the heavy bolter from in inside of the Chimera opened up and the rest of them exploded in a splash of blood.

Mira looked around. Half of her the guardsmen were dead or wounded and the other half were spending full clips into Tyranids or swinging and stabbing wildly at them with bayonets. Most of the Tyranids seemed be down but Mira's hopes faded as the Hive tyrant drew closer, the remaining two Chimera were focusing their fire on the Tyrant. But Mira knew from her studies that it wouldn't be enough, Hive tyrants are the most dangerous of all Tyranids and were reported to always eventually revive themselves after death. Rosencrantz fired furiously at the encroaching Hive Tyrant and bellowed over the vox channel for all guardsmen to target the Tyrant. Mira realized she had spent her last clip. She watched as the Hive tyrant came to only a few yards from the Chimera on the right of the Imperial line. She prayed. In the blink of an eye, four large black figures had charged into the belly of the beast and were burying chainswords into it. The Hive Tyrant roared and toppled over on its side. The black figures then started hacking and sawing at the beast's claws and Venom Cannon. One of them made its way to the monster's head and brought its chainsword down hard on the Tyranids exterior skull. The Tyrant squirmed and writhed but was unable to resist against the sudden swarm of hulking black metal. The beast's skull gave beneath the chainsword and Mira blinked as her mind cleared and she recognized the black metal figures.

"It's the Black Templars!" Rosencrantz shouted with triumph. "The Astartes have come to our aid!" A loud roar of cheers arose from the guardsmen all up the line, with the exception of the few still shooting or bayoneting the few Tyranids remaining. The Space Marines finished their work and left the Tyranid commander laying it its own blood and bile. Mira had given a weak and exhausted cheer herself.

"Guardsmen," a familiar voice came from behind Mira. She turned and her eyes widened. "Status report?" asked the teal armored figure towering over her. Captain Rosencrantz snapped a quick salute and began explaining the situation. Mira was both furious and hopeful; the armored figure in front of her was the man who arrested Captain Titus, hours earlier. Inquisitor Thrax.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's notes: Hey fans. I'm gonna be pumping these out as quick as I can. When school gets started I'll try my best to keep them coming but I can't make any promises. By the way I owe you all an apology, I wrote that Cain drew his bolt pistol in the last chapter. Actually he had a laspistol. Dumb mistake, I discovered it too late, please forgive me. Enjoy and please review.

A lasbolt shot into the face of the bellowing ork boy, assuring Cain that at least Jurgan wasn't allowing the war cry to intimidate him. Moments later a large bullet impacted the same orks face. The ork boy tumbled forward. Cain saw that the second shot had come from the soldier Leon, who had fired a very large gun built into his sword. Cain couldn't help but be impressed with the concept.

"Squad, open fire!" bellowed Don. The five men with him had already taken aim and were firing on full auto. Cain raised his laspistol and fired frantically. A few more orks fell to the ground, fresh lasbolt wounds on their chests and faces. The rest of the warband realized it was time to stop shouting and start killing. The Greenskins charged down the street toward the small squad, Cain fought his instinct to run for his life. It wouldn't do him any good. The orks were faster on foot than he'd ever be. He drew his chain sword and prepared for an upward stroke. More lasbolts were hitting the charging xenos from above; Cain looked up to see that the Vostroyans had positioned themselves on the two landings cordoning off the section of the village inside the gate. More Greenskins stumbled and fell, some of them got back up.

"Waaagh!" another war cry. This one came from above. Cain looked up to see that orks had climbed over the wall and were attacking the Vostroyans up on the landings. The Vostroyans had no choice; they had to turn their attention to the orks up above.

"Frak," Cain grunted. He kept firing, the horde was getting closer by the second and fewer of them were falling. Soon the rushing river of Greenskins was only yards away. "Everyone, dodge aside!" Cain shouted. Three Vostroyans dodged to the left with Don, two dodged right with Cain and Jurgan. Cain didn't have time to be flabbergasted at the fact that Cloud and Leon hadn't dodged at all. They both lurched forward into the oncoming fray of ork boys and swung their huge swords into the Greenskins.

Leon thrust his blade into the throat of an ork and pulled his sword's trigger. The orks head exploded from the point-blank blast of the hand cannon. Cloud swung horizontally at an upward angle, beheading two ork boys with a single swing. He then thrust his sword forward into the belly of an ork, shifted his weight and used the sword to swing himself upward and deliver a might kick to the orks face, the ork fell backwards. Two more boys raised their axes, ready to bring them down on Cloud. One of them fell backward to the sound of a gunshot and the other had Leon's sword thrust into its mouth and protrude out the back of its skull.

Cain was the first to snap out of the daze of awe which had overtaken himself, Don, Jurgan and the other Vostroyans. Orks were growing impatient with waiting for a chance to take on the two soldiers and started moving around them. Cain pressed the activation rune on his chainsword and swung it into the back of a nearby ork boy. The ork twitched but was too late to swing back. With splatter of blood, the orks top half slumped forward and its bottom half fell backwards. Cain turned toward another boy, charging at him. He fired three times into its face then thrust his chainsword into the boys torso. He twisted the sword the eased it upward, splitting the ork in half.

Cain turned just in time to see an ork boy preparing to swing an axe down on his head. A hail of lasgun bolts reducing the orks face to a bloody mesh and a familiar stench charging up Cain's nostrils assured him that Jurgan was right behind him. Don and the Vostroyans had gotten back into the battle as well. Don and the three on his side of the green tide opened up on full auto into the back up of boys. The two with Cain and Jurgan were firing as well. Both the two Vostroyans near Cain ran, with bayonets forward, toward a charging ork. At the last moment they slid to their knees and thrust their bayonets into the lower abdomen and groin region of the ork. Both fired their lasguns and pushed with all their might but the sheer weight of the ork boy was too much for them. Their arms and legs buckled and orks body tumbled forward. Just when all hope seemed to have fled away from the limp ton of green flesh, Cloud and Leon both pressed themselves against the boys' chest.

"Everyone, push!" shouted Leon. All four of them pushed with all their might. The ork boys' limp body was sent hurdling backward into the wave oncoming orks, knocking over at least a dozen. The two Vostroyans were dazed for a moment but quickly got to their feet and charged the downed orks, stabbing at their faces and necks with their bayonets. Jurgan, of course, had gotten there ahead of them; being a native to a planet permanently plagued by orks, thus knowing to kill them while they're down.

Cloud and Leon leaped to the aid of Don and the three guardsmen with him. Both the young lads leaped high into the air and brought their swords down with full force on the heads of two orks. Both orks toppled over in vertical halves, spraying the Vostroyans with blood. Leon spun around and fired his gigantic gun six times into the remaining ork boys. All six of them went down with massive bullets lodged in their brains. The guardsmen rushed forward to make sure of them and the rest of the downed orks. A large explosion erupted above them and a splattering of ork blood and rubble rained down on Cain. Cain recognized the ringing in his ears; a krak grenade had exploded on the landing above them. Cain looked up to see a large gap in the stone of the landing, drenched in ork entrails.

Cain turned to see Don talking into his vox set. The bell foundry in his ears was only just beginning to close shop. The sound of guardsmen cheering soon replaced the ringing. Cain turned briefly to see Jurgan and the rest of the guardsmen cheering and raising their lasguns into the air. Leon had joined in, raising his own mountainous blade over his head. Cloud had simply sheathed his sword on his back and stood with the same dull brooding look he'd had on his face since Cain first saw him. Cain considered that the lad might get along with Asteroth the Grim, of the Blood Angels. The boy had the strength and speed of a Space Marine as it was.

"Commissar!" Don's voice called. "It's over, the greenskins have been wiped out sir!" he finished with a triumphant smile and a friendly slap on Cain's shoulder.

"Well quite," said Cain with a nod. He felt that he should somehow take part in the niceties, but was too far gone with relief at what he thought would be the last ork charge he'd ever face. Every ork charge he'd faced before felt like it would be his last; as they had been for numerous guardsmen. Cain saw a tinge of disappointment on Don's face and remembered that as commander it was up to him to keep up the appearance of authority. He gave a deep sigh and forced a smirk of approval. "Well done Lieutenant," he said. "And all of you," he announced to the rest of the guardsmen (including his aid), who had gathered around them.

Cain turned to Cloud and Leon. Both stood with the guardsmen and were soaked in ork blood the same as the rest of them. Cain gave a firm nod to both of them.

"Well done to the both of you as well," he said. "Are you certain you're not deserted Astartes?" he joked. The two of them looked at him in confusion, he'd expected as much. The guardsmen, who understood the quip, all chuckled. "Never mind lads," Cain said with a smirk, before they could ask the obvious question. "It was a joke. In the meantime we need to post look-outs on the walls in the midst of this happening again," he continued, turning back to Don. "Lieutenant, get on the vox with Lt. Mira and Capt. Rosencrantz and find out…" the deafening bellow of an orkish war cry assaulted everyone's ears. It was louder and deeper than the last one and it came from behind them. Cain turned toward the source of the shout. He knew that the bellow as well as that of the boys.

"Nobs," gasped Cain.

"All hands, back to the market sector!" Don shouted into the vox.

Aerith rushed out the door of Merlin's cottage. Despite Merlin's shout of objection, she had to see what had happened. A loud explosion had shaken the entire town and Aerith was terrified that someone may be hurt. She scanned the street and saw no one, expect for the three duck brothers; Huey, Dewey and Louie. They were scrambling to carry the contents of their shop cart inside their nearby house, their uncle Scrooge stood in the doorway of the house, directing them.

"Mr. McDuck, boys, what are you doing?" Aerith called out in horror. The three young ducks stopped and turned to her.

"We need to get our stock inside, Ms. Areith!" Huey answered.

"Don't worry lass," called Scrooge. "We're almost finished."

"Forget, the shop!" shouted Yuffie, who had followed after Aerith left the cottage. "We don't know what's coming. And whatever it is, those soldiers seemed pretty tense about it! Get your nephews inside now," she demanded.

"Waaagh!" a deafening shout assaulted Aerith's ears. She winced in pain and slapped her hands over her ears. She looked up to see that they boys and their uncle had done the same. She turned her head down the road toward the outer wall of the town. She froze, her breath stopped in her throat. Five of large green muscular giants, two of them held large metal clubs and the other three clutched large axes.

Aerith gasped for breath and nearly stumbled backwards. Scrooge scrambled from the doorway and past his nephews to look around the other side of his shop cart at the five green monstrosities. He stumbled backward in terror with a gasp. The monster at the head of the group had seen them. The green giant raised a large pistol.

"Run lads!" shouted Scrooge. "Into the house quickly!" he cried and turned to run. Just as he finished a loud gunshot sounded and a large bullet ripped through the cart, then another and another. Wood and fragments of glass bottles and thin splashes of multicolored liquids sprayed through the air in all directions. Aerith dropped to the ground and the ducks did the same. Yuffie had dodged aside and scrambled down the street to get close to the monsters at the other end of the empty market square.

Aerith crawled as quickly as she could toward the four ducks. They lay on their stomachs coughing and brushing debris off themselves. The thumping vibrations of heavy footsteps could be heard and Aerith looked up to see the green giant who'd shot at them striding toward them, his war club (half the size of himself) swinging with his arm. Aerith knew she had to hurry.

"Mr. McDuck, boys, hurry!" she said as she reached them on her hands and knees. She wanted to stand and carry the boys in her arms but was terrified that the moment she stood up, the monster would fire his massive pistol again. She gathered the three boys in her arms and crawled with terrified haste toward their opened front door, only about twenty yards or so from the splintered cart. Aerith was almost to the door, when the remains of the cart flew over her head and crashed into the open doorway, barring her only path into the house.

Aerith turned. The monster had kicked the cart. Its eyes locked onto the five smaller creatures in front of it. Scrooge, who had lingered behind Aerith, stood up and began shouting with parental fury at the gigantic mass of green muscle.

"Stay back from me nephews you filthy, stinking, brute!" he roared as best his aged quacking voice would allow him. The elderly duck heralded his cane at the beasts face. The tiny wooden stick bounced off the thick flesh of the monsters nose. The green skinned brute looked down in at Scrooge with both furry and amusement.

"Fink ye can fight me, eh little birdie?" the monster asked with a menacing grin. He dropped his pistol and quickly grabbed Scrooge, bringing him up to his face. Scrooge must have been terrified but he made a good show before the monster.

"Put me down, you slimy, green, fiend!" Scrooge shouted. The giant only laughed, spraying Scrooge with saliva.

"Ye wunt down, do ye birdie?" he asked maliciously. "Alright den," he finished threw Scrooge with full force through a nearby window.

"Uncle Scrooge!" all three of the brothers cried out in unison. The giant turned to them. He took a few steps forward, crushing Scrooges cane beneath his foot. Aerith was frozen in terror, she clutched the boys in her arms and whispered for them not to worry, that everything would be alright. Her eyes filled with tears as she realized she was lying to them. The three of them returned her embrace. The giant brought up his war club with both hands, ready to swing it down and crush them. Aerith shut her eyes.

Then another roar was heard, a human roar of righteous fury. Aerith felt something fast and heavy pass her. She heard the sound of metal puncturing flesh and the heavy thud of something large hitting the ground. She opened her eyes saw that the giant had toppled over and atop it stood a large suit of blue armor. The armor suit turned to reveal the face of a large man with a gentle but strong face, a blood dagger, half the size of a man clutched in his hand.

"Are you alright, girl?" he asked. His voice was grizzled but soothing. Before Aerith could answer, the bellows of the other four giants could be heard. The armored man turned. Aerith looked past him to see that Yuffie had thrown two large blades into the eyes of one of the monsters and was dodging left and right as the other three furiously swung their axes at her. Smashing and shattering street vendors stands and carts with their failed swings.

"She won't last long," the armored man said. "Get to safety," he said before rushing to Yuffie's aid.

Yuffie kicked with all her might, the thick rubbery nose of the green giant giving her leverage to propel herself backwards away from it. She turned and saw that the one she'd blinded was starting to get back up. She wished she had something that could puncture their tick skin. The best she could do now was hold them off until Cloud, Leon and those weird soldiers got back; if they were coming back. She dodged another downward axe swing and rolled between the legs of another giant.

Yuffie broke out into a dead run. She hoped to buy time by leading them back toward the outer wall. A series of loud gunshots crackled as a hail of large bullets thudded into the cobblestone road beneath her feet. The bullets each exploded after impact, sending a gust of dust and splintered stones up into the air and knocking Yuffie down on her hands and knees.

Yuffie was dazed. The wind had been knocked out of her. She laboriously brought herself to her feet, just in time to dodge lazily to right as a massive axe smashed another vendor's stand to pieces. She fell to her side and looked up to find herself surrounded by the three giants. All three of them brought up their axes. Yuffie froze with terror. An instant later something crashed into one of them from behind with the force of a wrecking ball. The green monster was propelled forward into the other two.

Yuffie blinked and turned to see a large blue armored man standing above her. She was frozen again, this time in awe. The sunlight over head shone off the golden emblem of a two headed bird on his breast plate. He looked majestic. Under different circumstances Yuffie might have been able to enjoy being awestruck in this way.

"Stay back," the man said. "I will protect you," he finished. His face hardened and he went into a combat stance as the three brutes pushed themselves to their feet. Yuffie was still frozen, as much from fear now as awe.

"Pare da die, Space Marine!" one of the green giants growled. Just then a hail of red flashes ripped into the three of them. They were sprayed with bolts of red fire until their green skin was rip with blood spewing pock marks. After several seconds of being perforated by blasts of searing red death, the three giants fell limp. Yuffie turned to the see the strangely dressed soldiers had made their way back after all, over a dozen of them standing amidst the splintered remains of the market district. The one in the black coat and cap approached the "Space Marine" and her. The blinded giant had dropped to its knees. The approaching Commissar (called Cain), raised his arm and fired several times into the monsters face, the beast fell limp; its face a mangled lump of bloody bones and teeth.

"Ultramarines," Cain said with a bow. "It's about time you lot got here."

"Commissar Cain," the Space Marine said with recognition. "Your reputation precedes you," he said with an approving nod. Yuffie sighed. At least now she could rest assured they were on the same side. "How did you get here, Commissar?" he asked.

"It's a long story," Cain answered with a sigh of his own.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's notes: Hope your all liking my story so far, still not very many reviews; such a shame. No problem though. Here is the next chapter. Enjoy and please review.

Riku stood at the top of the cliff, staring at his to best friends. The starry sky above them flashed and sparkled with the fireworks show. It was the sign to everyone that summer vacation had started. But it was the last for himself and his friends. They had graduated High School. He had waited for them a whole year to celebrate, himself graduating a year before both of them. He did odd jobs and whatever else he could do to occupy his days, spending time with them every evening through their school year. Now all three of them (Riku, Sora and Kairi) stood atop the cliffs overlooking the ocean and the little island on which they had all spent much of their childhood days. As he stood there watching the two people he loved most in the world, a voice inside him screamed for him to become a murderer.

This had been a long time coming, even without the voice in his head, the site of seeing the two of them embracing each other and kissing each other seared Riku to the very depths of his heart. He had lied to his friends and himself that it was alright. He told them he understood, that they were all friends and always would be. He told them their friendship is important to him, even if Sora and Kairi share something deeper and more intimate than with him. He told himself that he was happy as long as Kairi was happy. It was all a lie.

The problem dated back to when they returned from Kingdom Hearts, after defeating Organization XIII. Riku was glad to be home. He was glad to be with Sora and Kairi again and glad to see them happy together. But every gentle passionate glance between the two of them was a stabbing sensation to his heart. Riku thought he would get over it. That the pain would lessen as the years went by. Three years had passed since then. The pain had only worsened. The three of them had gone to many parties, festivals and school dances since their return. Riku had always smiled and pretended to not mind as the two of them held hands as they walked, sat side by side at tables and held each other close as they danced. Riku's mind would burn with rage seeing them together. Sometimes Sora would grow bold and let his had drop below Kairi's waist, Kairi would just blush and smile at him. Riku would often leave such festivities early to avoid such sites.

One night, after working a late at a garage in town, Riku was walking home and passed by Sora's house. He had considered confronting Sora about his feelings of anger and jealousy for some time now. Not that he thought there was any hope of convincing Sora to give Kairi up, but he thought that maybe he would feel better if he were to just talk to his best friend about it. Riku figured that Sora would be a little upset at first; Riku was sometimes shocked at himself at how furious he would become. But Riku knew he could trust Sora and that he would say something that would make him remember how much his friendship meant to him.

Riku climbed up to Sora's window, as he'd done on several occasions since they were little. He looked in the window but saw only a dark room, Sora's empty bed the only thing visible. Riku thought that perhaps Sora was out on some errand or perhaps he and Kairi were out late somewhere in town (it being a Friday night). Riku continued his walk home and passed Kairi's house. He looked up to see a dim light coming from Kairi's window. Riku found it strange that Sora would be out without Kairi, but decided maybe he should try talking to Kairi about how he felt. As he climbed up to her window, he told himself to make sure he was very gentle about telling her and not to allow any frustration to be heard in his voice. He knew it would probably be awkward to confess his feelings to her in this way, especially when he knew she wanted to be with Sora. But he had grown very desperate for relief of his anger and frustration, he decided that the only way to bring peace to himself was to be honest and tell her straight out.

He reached the window and peered inside from the roof. His eyes locked, his breath froze in his throat. His mind was instantly numbed at first, he couldn't feel anything. Only process what he was seeing in his mind, like a computer translating lines of code in a video game. Sora and Kairi were lying in bed together, there were both under the blanket, and Sora was on top of Kairi. Sora wasn't wearing a shirt; Kairi's chest was also bare. They were kissing passionately, to a degree Riku had never seen before. Sora's hands ran freely through Kairi's hair and over her body. Sora ceased to kiss her lips and moved down to her neck. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was opened. Her moans of ecstasy could be heard through the closed window. Riku couldn't look away; he didn't know what to do. Run away, scream with rage, bitterly laugh at the irony, or let the tears flow freely.

"KILL HIM!" a dark voice hissed inside Riku's mind. Riku snapped out of his trance and nearly fell backward in surprise. For a moment he was sure it was just his imagination, then it spoke again. "Kill Sora, and finished what he started with Kairi!" the voice hissed. A vision appeared in Riku's mind about doing just that. He saw himself jumping through the window, snapping Sora's neck with his bare hands then turning to Kairi and ripping the blanket away from her. The vision had barely reached as far as turning to Kairi when Riku slid himself down the roof to the grass below and broke out into a dead run. He was panting for breath, not from the running but from sheer terror. How could he have thought such a thing? Was it even his thoughts? Was he losing his mind?

Riku had barged through his front door that night and sprinted up the stairs to his bathroom, leaving the door wide open. He turned the faucet on and splashed cold water on his face, cupping his hands and letting them fill with frigid water before immersing his bright red face in it. He looked up into his own reflection, seeing his own face twisted in utter horror.

"Pull yourself together, Riku?" he gasped to himself and immersed his face in cold water again. "Your only angry," he soothed himself. "Why shouldn't you be? Right?" he tried to force a laugh but it came out an exhausted gasp. "You knew they loved each other, Riku?" he told himself. "It was just a matter of time. It's their decision. What did you expect them to tell you? Or ask your permission?" he asked, trying not to speak too loud. "It's not your business anyway," he said, gaining some composure. He turned off the faucet and stood up straight, leaning slightly forward to look himself in the eyes. "It's going to be alright," he told himself definitively. "You're going to be alright."

"No you're not," his reflection growled at him. His reflection's face had twisted into a scowl. Riku didn't have time to be horrified before his reflection reached through the mirror and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Come on, Riku," said his reflection. "You just saw your best friend plowing himself into the woman you love!" he demanded. Riku was trembling down to his bones, his breathing was sporadic. His own face wasn't scowling, his voice wasn't talking and he felt a pair of strong hands on his shoulders.

"I'm dreaming!" Riku gasped in a whisper. "I'm dreaming. This is a nightmare. You aren't real," he went on, wishing with all his heart that what he just said was true.

"Is it really?" asked his reflection. "You'd like that to be true wouldn't you?" he asked. "Then none of this would have happened. Maybe you just fell asleep at work? Maybe Kairi's maiden head is still fully intact and she's at home relaxing, waiting for you to wake up and go running to her? Maybe she's just waiting for you to tell her you love her? Maybe then she'll forget all about Sora?" his reflection was smiling a sadistic smile. "Wrong!" he bellowed in Riku's face. Riku winced. "See? You flinched!" said the reflection. "You can't feel pain in a dream right? My voice hurt your ears, and what you saw hurt you right here," he said tapping the left side of Riku's chest.

"This is not possible!" Riku gasped.

"Says the boy who traveled to other worlds," his double chuckled. "Well obviously it is, because it's happening now."

"How?" asked Riku.

"That doesn't matter. What does matter, is that you didn't do as I told you!" the reflection roared. His hands gripped Riku tightly. "You loved them!" he said, his face vibrating with fury. "You loved them and they betrayed you! Sora knew you wanted her, from the very beginning. It was you who found her years ago when she was lost in Kingdom Hearts. It was you who rescued her and kept her safe. All He did was wake her up! You freed her and protected her from Organization XIII! She should be YOURS!" the reflection grasped Riku's throat tightly in his hands and squeezed hard. Riku stood helpless, gasping and straining for breath. "You should have killed him for his betrayal! And made her yours! Taken her! Made her regret she ever took you for granted!"

"Riku, No!" a familiar voice called to him urgently. It was too late, Riku's vision went black. After a few moments in pitch blackness, Riku found himself staring up into the concerned eyes of his mother. His head was propped up on her lap and her hands were gently stroking his forehead.

"Mother," he breathed her name, his voice filled with relief.

"Oh, sweetie," she soothed him. "I was so worried," she said, her voice sounded as though she was on the verge of tears. "What happened to you, sweetie? Whatever came over you?"

"What happened?" He asked. He mentally prayed that he'd just had a nightmare.

"Sweetie?" she looked at him in question. "You were chocking yourself!" she explained. "I heard you talking to yourself and gasping! I came to see what was wrong and there you were trying to strangle yourself!" Riku strained every nerve in his body to not let his fear be shown. Had he gone insane? Was it some remnant of Ansem? No it couldn't have been, Ansem was purged from him. Maybe it was just his nerves; maybe the shock of what he saw was just too much for him. He closed his eyes and knew he had to lie to his mother, to protect her.

"I was just upset, mother," he explained as calmly as he could. He sat up from her lap. "It's complicated," he told her. Hoping futilely that she would let it go at that.

"What happened to you, Riku?" she asked. She placed her hands on his shoulders. He fought the urge to jump with fright. Her hands were warm, soft and soothing; nothing like the hands which held him a moment ago. He relaxed himself under her hands and accepted her gesture. "Is it about your friends, Sora and Kairi?" she aksed. Riku gasped, he'd never mentioned his feelings for Kairi or his jealousy to her. He turned to her in question.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"You didn't think you could hide it from me did you?" she asked with a gentle smile. She went on to explain, that she'd seen the way he looked at her over the years and the way she looked at Sora. She had also seen patterns in his behavior when she'd ask what Sora and Kairi were up to. When he'd tell her that they'd gone out on dates, she could sense the frustration in his eyes and voice. Riku blushed; his mother knew more about him than even he knew. His mother stood him up and led him to his bedroom where she sat him down on his bed. She went on to explain how she was in love with a boy through her childhood, who ended up dating and marrying another girl (who she was also friends with). It was painful for years, watching them be happy. But she eventually moved on and found Riku's father (who died when he was very young).

"I understand how you feel, sweetie," she soothed. "And I know it hurts, but please don't let it poison your heart and don't let it keep you from staying friends with them, if you can. You mean a lot to both of them and I know they mean a lot to you," she went on. "I won't ask what they said or did to upset you so badly, but I'm sure if you would just confront them about it you'll all make up. You always have. And don't give up on ever finding love again, sweetie. If you keep your faith, something good will happen. Just like it did for me," she finished and embraced her son.

"Thanks mom," Riku whispered in her ear. "You're the best."

Riku met Sora and Kairi on the way to school the next morning and asked them how their night went. They both blushed slightly and gasped in surprise at the question.

"Oh, it was fine," said Sora with a nervous smile. "I didn't do a whole lot."

"You weren't home when I stopped by your house last night," said Riku, trying as hard as he could to soften the edge on his voice.

"Oh, right!" said Sora, trying desperately to think of what to say next. "Well I ended up going for a walk through town last night…by myself. To think over some uh…college related stuff," he finished with a forced smile of confidence.

"I just…um…went to bed early last night," said Kairi, blushing bright red.

"Why are you blushing?" asked Riku, with his default cold calculating tone.

"Oh, it's just hot is all," she said. Not a very strong excuse, it was only 65 degrees that day. Sora and Kairi were careful not to look at each other again for the rest of their walk to school. Riku busied himself with work that day and for the next few months till summer break would begin. The voice never left him.

"They lied to you!" it hissed at him every day. "You loved them and they lied to you! They both betrayed you!" it insisted. Riku fought as hard as he could to ignore it. One night while walking down the road, going home from another late day at work, Riku couldn't help but reply to it.

"Shut the hell up," he said plainly out loud. "You're not real. I'm only imagining you," he said.

"Well, that kind of tells you something about your state of mind, doesn't it?" the voice asked. "It's got you hearing things, got you talking to yourself, got you thinking about murdering your best friend and ravaging the woman you love. Maybe you ought to commit yourself," he suggested, his voice betraying a faceless smile. "Come on, you know you want it. You know those two are just going to bang each other till they forget all about you. You'll just be a distant, invading presence in their romantic memories someday. You'll just be cramping their style. And you'll just keep getting worse and worse. You know you'll never find another girl like that if you look for a hundred years across all the other worlds. You'll be alone and bitter for the rest of your days, Riku. Misery loves company, you know."

"You're wrong," Riku snapped and looked up to the black, overcastted sky. "They're my friends. They always will be. I'm going to move on. I'll find someone like my mom did. I'll be fine," he said with confidence but couldn't escape the feeling he was kidding himself. He barely noticed the bright lights in front of him as he looked up into the darkness, a darkness he was all too familiar with.

"Not if you don't keep your eyes on the road, sweetie," the voice chuckled. A loud honking noise blared into Riku's ears and he dodged aside just in time to avoid an oncoming car. "Almost had you didn't he?" he asked.

"Riku!" Kairi's voice called out. Riku turned to see Kairi running toward him, illuminated under the street lamps. She was carrying two cans of soda and looked genuinely concerned. Riku blinked, he had hardly spoken to her in weeks. Not since she and Sora lied to him. "Are you alright?" she asked as she reached him.

"I'm fine," he almost shouted. Kairi jumped back with shock. "I mean…I'm sorry. I just thought I saw something up in the sky and...I forgot I was out in the street," he lied to her. "Makes us even," he said in his mind.

"Not nearly even enough," the voice hissed. Riku ignored it.

"It's alright," said Kairi with a warm smile. "Try not to zone out like that, silly head," she said. Riku's heart softened, he allowed a smirk to escape his mouth. Something about her kindness always soothed him. "Your mom told me you were working late, so I thought I'd bring you one of these and we could talk," she held one of the cans out to him. He took it and immediately opened it up and took a sip. He needed it.

"Thanks," he gasped. "I needed that more than you know," he said with a grin.

"Well that's what you get for zoning out in the middle of the road silly," she teased. They started walking together. Kairi explained that Sora had to stay at school late and work on extra homework. She told Riku that Sora and her missed him and didn't understand why he wasn't meeting up with them. Riku explained that he was trying to work longer hours to save more money for college, which wasn't too far from the truth. Kairi laughed and reminded him that they were all planning on going to college together.

"Hey, Riku?" Kairi asked after a moment of silence.

"Yes?" he answered.

"Do you think we'll ever stop being friends?" she asked him. Riku stopped in his tracks. Kairi stopped too. "I'm sorry, it's just that ever since you stopped meeting up with us I've been afraid that you may just, disappear from both our lives," Kairi explained, turning to face him. Her smile was gone, only worry remained. "Even Tidus and Wakka are worried about you. It just had me worried that, our friendship may one day end. I can't bear the thought of that." She looked Riku the eyes. He was certain she'd start crying soon. He found himself wanting to lean forward and kiss her, but thought better of it.

"Don't be silly, Kairi," he sighed. "I could never stop being your friend, or Sora's; no matter what," he said. "You two mean the world to me," he told her truthfully. The smile returned to her face and she leaped forward and threw her arms around him. Riku's face burned with embarrassment.

"I'm so glad to hear that, Riku," she said. "Do you think you can meet up with us more often again, it's only a few days till school is out for the summer?" she looked up, pleading into Riku's eyes. Riku sighed.

"Okay, I promise," said Riku. "I'll tell the boss man I'd like few hours."

"Thank you Riku," she said, resuming her hug. "Sora and the others will be glad to have you back," she finished. Riku gingerly brought his arms up and returned her embrace.

"Touch her!" the voice hissed. "Take her now! Take her out in the field and have your way with her!" Riku and Kairi were standing on the sidewalk, beside an open grassy field. "Take her from Sora like he took her from you!" he shouted in Riku's mind.

"No," Riku growled.

"What is it?" asked Kairi pulling away from him. She looked at him in question. Riku realized his mistake.

"Oh…uh…err…sorry," Riku fumbled with his words. "I was…just thinking of something the boss told me today is all…it's nothing important, really," he said with nervous smile, he forced himself to make his smile look goofy. Thankfully Kairi started giggling.

"You've been working yourself, way too hard," she smiled, waving a finger in front of her in disapproval. "You're hanging out with me and Sora tomorrow and that is final," she ordered. Riku laughed.

"Okay, fine," he sighed.

"I wish there was something special we could all do together over the summer," said Kairi. As if on cue, a trio of large trucks pulled up along the roadside and parked, just yards away from Riku and Kairi. Both looked the trucks over. The drivers and passengers of the trucks climbed out and started opening up the container doors at the back. The street lamps illuminated the sides of the containers to show the words "Dark's Carnival" painted in red on the sides.

"Oh! It's a carnival!" Kairi nearly jumped in excitement.

"Indeed it is, young lady," a friendly voice said behind them. Riku and Kairi turned around to see a tall bearded man in a black suit and wearing a black top hat standing before them. He held a bundle of fliers in his black gloved hands and though he had a friendly smile on his face, there was an aura of mystery about him. "Greetings to the both of you," he said. "My name is Mr. Dark, I am the own and manager of "Dark's Carnival" and I am pleased to make the two of you the first ones to learn that my carnival is to be put up right here, on this field," he explained and waved his arm across the field behind him.

"Oh, that's wonderful," Kairi cheered with glee. "When do you plan to open?" she asked.

"Very soon, my dear," Mr. Dark replied. "By Saturday, if we can manage it. Just in time for the end of the school semester; if I'm not mistaken."

"That's great! We're graduating this Friday!" said Kairi.

"Ah, wonderful," said Mr. Dark. "It would be a wise decision for this young couple to celebrate their departure into the world of adulthood, with a date at my establishment," he said with a friendly wink. "We have so many attractions that should suit the two of you. We have puppet shows, clowns, a Hall of Mirrors, a Farris Wheel and of course," he paused to quickly spin around behind the two of them. "A Tunnel of Love," he said into their ears, pressing their shoulders together. Riku and Kairi both blushed.

"Oh…it's not like that with us," said Kairi with an awkward smile. "We're just good friends is all." Riku repressed a jealous cringe.

"She's right, we're just friends," said Riku with a slight edge to his voice. He thought he noticed a concerned glance from Kairi.

"Oh, really?" asked Mr. Dark. "Is it the custom of "friends" to stand passionately embracing each other in a dark field at night, these days?" he asked with a friendly chuckle. Kairi opened her mouth to say something but Riku cut her off.

"It's not like that," he said, being careful this time not to betray any emotion.

"Oh my, what a pity," said Mr. Dark. "I feel that the two of you would make a charming couple. Wouldn't you agree?" he asked Riku with a wink.

"Yes I would, sir," the voice replied in Riku's head. Riku trembled but didn't say anything.

"Well then," began Dark. "If the two of you should change your mind or bring a friend along with you, let me extend to you these three tickets for this Saturday; free of charge," he finished, reaching into his coat pocket to produce three red tickets and held them out to Kairi.

"Oh thank you, sir," said Kairi as she accepted the tickets. "I have some money though, I'm sure I can afford them."

"Nonsense, my dear," said Dark with a wave of his gloved hand. "That won't be necessary, so long as you assure me that you will grace my carnival with your gorgeous company, and of course this young man and whatever other lucky young man you wish to grace with your company," he said with alluring question. Kairi blushed even brighter. Riku had a bad feeling about this.

"We'll be here, sir, thank you," she said with a slight nodding bow. Mr. Dark tipped his hat to her and nodded to Riku. The two of them resumed their walk; Riku looked back over his shoulder as they walked to see the workers breaking out folded tents and electrical equipment. Mr. Dark stood among them, giving orders and pointing out across the field. Kairi was still very excited about the carnival. Riku played along; acting as though he agreed it would be fun. But something inside him warned him to be weary. And it wasn't the monstrous voice.

The last hours of school and the graduation ceremony had come and gone. Sora and Kairi exited the school arm in arm, both running and waving to Riku who stood on the sidewalk outside the school. Today the pain was unbearable, but he forced a smile as they approached together. Sora and Kairi only released each other's hands when Riku reached out to shake their hands. He shook them for as long as they would hold his hand, wanting to up off the searing pain of seeing them hold hands as long as possible.

The three of them walked on together for hours. They stopped at a vendor for ice cream, each getting their favorite flavor. Riku's dark chocolate melted quickly but he was careful to avoid brain freeze. Sora polished his vanilla down soon after Riku. Kairi, on the other hand, had ordered a triple scooped cherry ice cream and was still working her way down to the cone. Sora suddenly leaned forward and licked the top of the red and white cream, exactly where Kairi had licked it. Kairi paused for a moment but grinned at him; both began taking turns licking it together. Riku's stomach heaved. He clenched his gut with his hands and stopped walking. The voice hissed a laugh.

"Licking her cherry," he said. "Just like he did that night," he finished with a giggle.

"Are you alright?" asked Sora, his and Kairi's faces expressed shock and concern. Smart as he was, Sora could be pretty dense sometimes.

"I'm fine," Riku snapped, to their visual surprise. "I'm fine," he repeated softly. "Just feeling a little weird today, that's all."

"Would you like to go home?" asked Kairi.

"No, I'll be fine," he said. "Besides the fireworks will be starting soon," he explained, pointing to the dimming sky of dusk.

"You sure?" both his friends asked in unison.

"Yes, I'll be fine," replied Riku. He looked up to them with a deceivingly genuine smile. "It's just what I get for eating ice cream on an empty stomach. Sora and Kairi giggled. They made their way to the cliffs overlooking the shoreline and their little island. The stars were out and the sky was very clear. It was a beautiful view. Sora and Kairi thought as much and stood wrapped in each other's arms beside Riku (who trying painfully to look the other way). The fireworks started. One explosion after another filled the starry sky with all the colors of the rainbow. For a while the three of them were able to stare in awe at the display but eventually Sora turned to see the colored lights reflecting on her crystal blue eyes. She turned to meet his gaze. The site of the reflecting lights off both their blue eyes was too much for either of them. They both leaned forward into a gentle but passionate kiss.

Riku couldn't bear to look. He turned around and took three steps down the dirt path they'd taken to get there and stopped. He turned back to his two best friends. This was the last straw. This night was supposed to be for all three of them. Not just some romantic moonlight walk for Sora and Kairi. This was beyond insensitive. Sora knew how he felt and if Kairi knew, she did a good job at hiding it. The rage built up inside him. His fists clenched. He felt his fingernails puncturing his palms and then the warm flow of blood.

"Kill him!" the voice hissed. "Kill him and take what's rightly yours!" he said. Riku took a step forward, then another. He brought up both his hands behind his best friends neck. "KILL HIM NOW!" the voice roared. The fireworks show ceased.

Riku grasped Sora's throat and squeezed tightly. He then shifted his weight and flung Sora to the ground at his feet. Before Sora could react, Riku had pinned him down on the ground near the edge of the cliff, kneeling on his shoulders. Riku clenched Sora's neck in his hands and squeezed with all his might. Sora waved his arms wildely, weakly slapping at Riku's arms.

"Riku!" Kairi screamed in surprise, not know what was happening at first. Then she saw Sora's eyes beginning to bulge and Riku's hands squeezing her lover's windpipe and the coin dropped. Her eyes widened in terror. "Riku, No! Stop! You're hurting him! Stop!" she shouted. Riku ignored her. His mind was in a trance-like state. All he could think if was revenge, bloody revenge. He'd ceased to recognize who he was strangling. All he knew was that this man was the source of all his pain.

"Stop it!" Kairi cried. "You're killing him!"

"That's the general idea, silly girl," the voice taunted. Sora's gasps were growing fainter and weaker. Kairi got down on her knees in front of Riku. She saw his face was frozen in a glare of burning rage.

"Riku, please you need to stop," she pleaded. Riku didn't even look up. Kairi reached out, took Riku's face into her palms and lifted his face to meet her eyes. "Riku, listen to me, you're killing Sora. Please stop!" she begged him. His eyes met hers, they didn't change. "Riku please, we're your friends, we both love you! Please you have to stop!" she said, her eyes filling with tears. Riku's hands loosened their grip. Sora gasped in a deep breath. Riku roared with fury, brought up the back of his right hand and slapped Kairi across the face with all his might. She fell backwards. Riku felt blood on the back of his hand. He saw blood drip down Kairi's lips. And suddenly, he realized what he'd just done and what he was doing. He leaped to his feet and backed away from his fallen friends. Sora continued to gasp for breath. Kairi pushed herself to her knees and crawled to him.

Riku saw the blood on Kairi's face, Sora struggling to breath. He became short of breath himself. This couldn't be happening, how could it be happening? He'd just attack the two people he loved most in the world. He nearly killed Sora and he'd bloodied Kairi's face. Riku looked down at his bleeding hands and turned his right hand over to see Kairi's blood. He looked up into the sky, a black overcast had blocked out the stars. He closed his eyes and screamed in agony from the bottom of his heart. He nearly fainted.

"This, can't be happening!" he cried.

"Oh, but it can!" the voice cackled. "It can and it just did!"

"How? Why? What do you want from me?" Riku screamed, clutching his head in his hands.

"I want you to level the playing field, for us Riku," the voice replied. "I've been grooming you for this job for over three years. I've been lying in waiting here inside your head, ever since your time trapped in the realm of darkness. I've been pushing you in the right direction, here and there. Speaking to your self-consciousness, inspiring you to put your little friend Sora in his place and claim your prize of battle; which is rightly yours! Now is the time Riku, take your blade, kill Sora and Kairi can be yours forever!" said the voice. Riku's hand stretched out in front of him, all on its own and his palm opened. A dark miasma appeared in his hand and in the blink of an eye, his hand held the Soul Eater. Riku shut his eyes in horror. He shook his head and opened them again. The blade was still there, he felt it in his hand. The nightmarish bat-wing shaped blade he was given by Maleficent; years earlier. The evil sword he thought he'd seen the last of. It was back. Kairi and Sora were both looking up in horror at their friend, wielding the blade he was once given as an agent of the Heartless.

"Kill Sora now, while he is weak!" the voice shouted, filling the air and echoing in Riku's ears. Kairi and Sora both heard it too. Their eyes widened with horror. "Kill him! And claim Kairi as your prize!" the voice roared shaking the very ground beneath them.

"Riku don't!" cried Sora, struggling to stand up. "It's the Heartless, it's a trick!" Riku took a step toward him, then another.

"Please Riku, don't!" Kairi shouted and threw herself in front of Sora. Sora tried to push Kairi away, but she wouldn't budge. "You said we'd never stop being friends!" she cried. "Please!" Riku raised the Soul Eater. Kairi shut her eyes, Sora held her tightly.

"No!" Riku howled. He threw the cursed sword past Kairi and Sora, over the edge of the cliff. Kairi and Sora both looked up. Riku fell to his knees weeping. A bright flash and a flux of unnatural energy surged from behind Riku and his two best friends looked up in terror at a fifteen foot, glowing red monstrosity holding a large sword blazing and shinning like molten lava. The monster raised its blade.

"I gave you a chance to have what you wanted, Riku," the beast said, it's voice identical to the one Riku had been hearing in his mind. Riku looked up into the blazing eyes of the Daemon. "You have chosen the path of PAIN!" the Daemon roared and brought its massive sword down upon Riku. Another flash of blinding light and a large winged Angel clad in gold armor appeared standing over Riku, blocking the Daemon's sword with his own blade of shinning metal.

"Do not be afraid, children," a kind but strong voice called out. "I will get you all away from here!" he shouted. "Away with you foul spawn of the Warp!" The light flashed again, and Riku, Kairi, Sora, the Daemon and the Angel, were gone.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's notes: Nice to have a few more reviews, but would appreciate more input. Hope your all enjoyed that last one. A bit different, more like a psychological thriller. I hope it was a neat twist. Enjoy this next one and please review.

"Get up, you!" a tough and grizzled voice called to Sora. Sora's mind was still in a haze of darkness. He couldn't see the source of the voice. "I said, get up! You miserable lout!" the voice bellowed. A sudden hard kick to his side brought Sora out of the darkness. He opened his eyes to find himself looking up into the disapproving eyes of frowning mustached soldier, in a red uniform and wearing a fur cap. Sora winced with pain and slowly sat up. He scanned the area. It all looked familiar but he didn't have time to process it all. "On your feet, boy!" the soldier growled, grabbing Sora by his shirt collar and dragging him to his feet.

"Alright!" Sora exclaimed. The soldier eyeballed him thoughtfully. Sora was still dazed and felt numb. He'd never seen a soldier dressed like this before. Most armies in his world wore something a bit more modern. There was a rifle of some sort slung around his shoulder, but it didn't look like most armies standard issue assault rifles. Then the coin dropped. "Wait! Is this Radiant Garden?" he asked the soldier.

"Of course it is, lad," the mustached soldier replied. "Where else would it be? Did you trade for a flagon of Amasec?

Sora's eyes lit up. After three years, he had almost forgotten all about this place. He was ashamed of himself for not recognizing it immediately. He was standing in the middle of the market district of Radiant Garden! Merlin, Leon, Cloud, Aerith, Yuffie, Tifa and all the others would be here! He was back, back in Kingdom Hearts! Sora felt like leaping for joy but was cut off by the soldier.

"Hold on a moment lad," he said. He looked Sora over once more, he seemed to recognize him. "Your name wouldn't be Sora, would it?" he asked.

"Yes," Sora answered. He looked at the soldier in question. He couldn't recall ever seeing the man before. Much of his memory of the place had returned very quickly. The soldier's face softened.

"Well that explains, that," the soldier murmured. "In that case, welcome back lad," the soldier continued with a sense of ceremony. "The Commissar and that wizard fellow will want to see you right away then."

"Merlin?" Sora asked in excitement. "Where is he?"

"Should be with the Commissar, in the office up in the fortress," the soldier answered.

"Thank you!" said Sora, almost shouting, and took off running down the street. After so long and nearly forgetting, he would finally see his friends again. He knew Kairi and Riku might be here somewhere too. And Donald and Goofy might be there. He was too happy to remember what had happened, yet.

"Hey, Lad!" the soldier shouted after him. "If you run into anymore guardsmen, just tell them your name," he said. Sora heard him say something into what he assumed was a radio set in his ear. Sora wanted to acknowledge him but was running too fast and spun around a corner seconds later. He made his way through the winding streets of the town, passing by other red coated soldiers as he ran, most of them just took a quick glance at him and kept on walking. Sora was curious as to why soldiers were in the streets and why there were no shops open I the market district but he decided it was best just to get to Merlin, if the soldiers weren't on his side then Merlin wouldn't be with their leader. He began ascending the steps to the fortress he ran into a pair of soldiers near the main entrance. They held up their hands and Sora stopped, panting for breath.

"You'd be Sora then, I take it?" asked one of the soldiers. Sora nodded, apparently it was a radio set that the soldier spoke into. "Best be getting inside then, the Commissar and the rest of the chain of command are waiting for you," he said. Sora nodded and stood up to take in a deep breath. He turned around to look out over the horizon he hadn't seen in years. His breath froze in his lungs. He was high enough over the main wall to see the vast open valley between the blue mountain range surrounding the fortress. The Valley, where Sora and his comrades had once fought a massive battle, was now filled with soldiers. The soldiers wore multiple different uniforms of varying colors and designs. Most of them were filtering in and out of tents or working on large armored vehicles and tanks. Some towered over others and wore head-to-toe armor suits. Sora was shocked. Clearly these soldiers weren't his enemies, but who were they and where did they come from? Sora snapped himself out of it. He turned and walked past the two soldiers, who had already moved aside for him. He resumed his run as he entered the fortress. It was time to find out what was going on.

Cain took another sip of tana, fresh and hot from the pot on the desk. It had been another usual day, if the days of the past three months could be called usual. As Merlin had predicted, more and more imperial guard troopers and space marines showed up on a daily basis. Even up to a month ago units and ships kept turning up.

A month ago, the last of the five ships orbiting the planet, arrived. The flotilla consisted of 3 battleships and 2 grand cruisers, plenty enough firepower to keep any chaos surprises at bay, assuming all they'd encounter is a small scout force. The tech-priest (or mechanic, as he preferred to be called), Sid, wasted no time in telling them that in order for the ships to travel through the void between worlds, they would need to be coated with a special material called "gumi coating". Cain had come close to laughing when he first heard the name of the material, but it happens the people of this world were capable of making formidable ships with this material; nothing nearly as impressive as the ships of the imperium but good enough to serve as transports or fighters. The two grand cruisers were both finished and the first two battleships were three quarters done with the gumi coating. The last Battleship was to begin coating after the first two were finished.

As for Cain, he'd had some minor troubles with the locals early on in their transition to imperial rule. The locals were less than enthusiastic about their local authorities being replaced by the guardsmen; Lt. Don and his Vostroyans were made the police/occupational force of the town, their small number being suitable. There were some complaints of soldiers behaving badly with the women early on, though of course the worst complainers were the medicade personal, on account of because they ended up needing to bed several guardsmen. A few of the local girls (Tifa and Yuffie), who Cain remembered from the day of his arrival (and for good reason) were as formidable fighters as were Leon and Cloud. Thus they took up the job of assuring the troopers were respectful to the local women.

At Merlin's request, Cain and Don had given the girls police authority over the troopers, with the understanding that they try not to injure them too badly. After a few foolish, usually drunken, guardsmen attempted to force themselves on a few of the locals (even Tifa and Yuffie) and they soon found themselves beaten bloody and wrapped in bandages in the fortresses make-shift sick bay, the bad behavior mellowed considerably. Guardsmen were still welcome to enter the town (albeit with liberty passes only) and could enjoy the comforts of civilization, so long as they didn't steal anything or cause any unnecessary damage or violence. By and large, the guardsmen grew to appreciate the kindliness and peacefulness of the village over time. Cain himself was relieved to at the friendly atmosphere of the village. Even after the terrible fighting which had taken place, the locals were quite resilient and optimistic. But then, they could afford to be, Cain couldn't.

The Cadians and Armageddon troopers set up camp in the Valley, outside the north gate. The camp soon grew massively as more and more troopers and astartes began to appear. The Black Templar marines and the one ultramarine, Capt. Titus, set up camp with the guardsmen (the inquisitor, Thrax, slept in a relatively small room in the fortress). Soon they were joined by a contingent of Tallarns, then a platoon of Mordians, then one of Krieg guardsmen (which caused an understandable drop in moral for a time), then a platoon of Valhallans appeared. The ships arrived soon after with troops of their own on board, who were all too glad for an excuse to leave the ships and make camp on a planet. It took them time to grow use to the wide range of strange sentient creatures they met in the village, but things settled relatively quickly with each new set of arrivals/reinforcements.

The Krieg guardsmen of course rarely entered the town, but to report to Cain and the other officers; except for the one Krieg officer, Col. Hannibal Land, a very unusual Krieg officer. Col. Land never wore his gas mask and usually had a warmer and more open demeanor about him than any other Kriegman; who Cain had understood to be very cold and anti-social. Most Krieg guardsmen were never seen without their masks; unless ordered to remove them, which usually revealed very plain and usual faces (albeit ridden with acne).

Cain was comfortably resting in his cushioned seat behind his grand desk. His staff was sitting equally comfortably in their own seats arranged in a semi-circle around his desk. Lt. Mira, Capt. Rosencrantz, Col. Land, Major Dragov, and Major Omar were sitting in the semi-circle. Merlin was sitting in a chair beside his desk. One chair was empty, but Cain had grown tired of waiting. It had been a relatively calm day, another fight had broken out between a dark angel and a space wolf, Tifa had broken a drunken Catachan's fingers at one of the taverns and Lord Astorath of the blood angels had executed another death company marine who was succumbing to the black rage. Long periods of inactivity could often be as lethal to the blood angels as the fury of combat. Cain had called the meeting to discuss the possibility of sending out a scouting party to the worlds of the multi-verse "kingdom hearts". Merlin had rebuked the idea a month ago when the thought was first suggested by Capt. Titus, but with things moving on so smoothly Cain thought it might be the appropriate time.

"At your command, Commissar, I will lead my men on a scouting mission," Col. Land said from his chair. His friendly disposition was as off-setting as always. "All we will require is a guide, I'm certain one of the two soldiers would be willing to volunteer," he said referring to Leon and Cloud. "Our pilots have been training with these gumi ships for the past two months now, I am confident they are ready sir."

"My men and I are prepared as well, Commissar," Major Omar of the Tallarns broke in. "We will travel light, as always. And if need be, we could set down on any tainted world and formulate a resistance until reinforcements arrive," he finished, the Tallarn guardsmen were very good at hit and run tactics and could easily fight a guerilla war on short notice, they were best suited for dessert climates but could adapt to nearly any climate.

"I understand that you're all looking forward to getting into the fight, or rather finding the fight," Cain stated, he noticed a look of disappointment on Lt. Mira and Capt. Rosencrantz's faces; no doubt they were about to volunteer themselves and their units for reconnaissance. "But first we need a basic idea of where we are going and what we'll encounter," he said. The officer's faces twisted in confusion. They had been under the impression that they would be facing Chaos, Heretics and possibly more Orks; Cain had thought it best to keep these "Heartless" to himself and Thrax (standing in the back of the room). Merlin had thought that wise as well. "I'm afraid we will be facing an additional enemy, one that we have never encountered before, "Cain said. He went on to tell them what Merlin had told him. Dark shadowy figures of twisted and bizarre shapes, some of which were once living beings but were absorbed into darkness, things that frightened Cain almost as much as the Necrons. Thrax had concluded long ago that these creatures were merely a newfound breed of Chaos Daemons, which Cain accepted; Emperor knows what lies within the eye of terror, just because the Imperium hadn't spotted any new daemon manifestations in centuries didn't mean there weren't any more variants lurking in the darkness. There wasn't a calm face in the room when Cain finished, except for Tharx who didn't seem to be rattled at anything. Cain took another sip of his tana (still warm) to repress a shiver.

"By the Emperor!" Rosencrantz exclaimed when Cain finished.

"Bloody Warp!" Mira gasped.

"How could the Administratorum not have known about this?" asked Omar. "Even the Necrons aren't so secret that the guard didn't know about them!" He went on. Cain took another sip.

"How and why don't matter much now," Land broke in. "These creatures exist and it is our duty to destroy them in the name of the Emperor," he finished. All eyes in the room were on him. Even Major Dragov of the Valhallan guard looked impressed with him (and he was impressed with little other than himself).

"Well spoken, Colonel," said Cain. Land nodded.

"How would you like us to proceed, Commissar?" asked Mira.

"The worlds of Kingdom Hearts do not stay in any fixed position or orbit," Cain explained. "They alternate over time but can be reached through a set pathway, similar to an underwater current. According to Merlin, these pathways should lead us to each world vortex," he went on. "Each vortex should lead to one particular area of each world, usually because there is some item or person of interest to the heartless. We will simply need to find that item or person and keep it from falling into the hands of the enemy."

"Or we could just wait for the enemy to make his move and crush them," Dragov broke in. He finished with pounding his fist on the arm of his chair. Merlin looked at him as though he'd lost his mind. Mira and Land both looked at him in question. The Valhallans had a history of leaving mayhem in their wake and not caring much who they trampled over to get to the enemy, Dragov was clearly a component of that reputation. Valhallan guardsmen, including Jurgen, tended to hate many of their commanding officers more than their enemies. Arousing such hatred among the guardsmen for one's self was a dubious strategy for any commander as far as Cain was concerned, but then he always figured that if the men respected and possibly admired him (at least somewhat) then they would be more likely to obey him; having a loyal group of guardsmen surrounding you when the enemy comes always seemed a much safer plan to Cain.

"Your input and enthusiasm is appreciated, Major," said Cain. "But hopefully it will not come to that. We are here to kill the enemies of humanity, not our fellow humans."

"Of course, Commissar," said Dragov. "But not all things go according to plan, we must be willing to adapt and take measures to assure the enemy do not gain the advantage, and surely the sacrifice of some may lead to the safety of others," said Dragov with a cocky smirk. Cain could see he was trying to be clever.

"I believe what the Commissar is saying," Land broke in. "Is that we must make sure our sacrifices are not in vain and that we should prioritize killing the enemy while losing as few of our own troopers as possible. Emperor knows we run the risk of stretching ourselves thin as is," He finished, this was very true. To the inexperienced eye it would appear they had a galaxy conquering battle force at hand, but in truth even their grand force available would hardly be enough to defend a single star system; let alone an entire multi-verse. Dragov seemed convinced at Land's input and nodded.

"Thank you again, Colonel," Cain nodded. "Merlin has designated a number of persons who may be of interest to the enemy, I have uploaded their descriptions and profiles to the data network; you'll be able to find them on your data slates under the file labeled, Princesses," he explained. "These women possess a certain degree of psychic energy, which the heartless will be able to gain power from and may be used as an unlocking mechanism for the collective power of the entire multi-verse. If the enemy is able to obtain all these women, it may very well be the end, not only for this kingdom hearts but of our own galaxy as well. The power which the forces of Chaos seek from this multi-verse would no doubt turn the tide of the war for our own world," Cain went on. "Make no mistake; this is a war for humanity itself. I expect you all to perform your duties without question, in the name of the Emperor," he finished.

"Sir," all the officers complied. Just then the door behind them opened and in stepped a rough and grizzled man wearing a field uniform with a cap and a fresh cigar blazing in his mouth. His face was covered with scars and his mouth seemed twisted in a permanent sneer. There was a strange darkness in his eyes and a look of ademantium will and determination on his face.

"My apologies for being late, Commissar," said Colonel Schaeffer. "There was another fight on board the ship, I had to exercise some extreme discipline," he explained.

"Understood Colonel," replied Cain. "Your unit does have its reputation,"

"They will obey their orders, Commissar, I promise you that," he said without a hint of doubt.

"I have no doubt," said Cain. "Have a word with Inquisitor Thrax, he will fill you in on all you've missed," he instructed. Schaeffer nodded and walked to the other end of the room with Thrax. The door opened again and Don bursted in.

"Commissar!" he said, as if he carried an urgent message. "That boy, Sora, he's here!"

"What?" Merlin cried as he jumped to his feet.

"One of my men found him in the streets, he is on his way here now," Don finished.

"About time," said Cain. He had been starting to wonder if the boy would show at all. Merlin claimed that the boy was their last best hope for victory. From all the praises of the locals, Cain figured it would be an excellent moral boost for the village's people. And, of course, having someone else who has not only fought the heartless, but defeated them and their leadership would definitely tip the odds in humanities favor. "Well officers, it seems we have yet another late arrival, he'll be joining us shortly.

Sora stopped running as he approached the door to the office, he caught his breath as quickly as he could, not wanting to make a bad impression of himself. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and straightened his clothing (the black shirt, pants and shoes he had grown accustomed to). He took a deep breath and stepped in the door. All who were present arose from their seats. There were nine people in the room, two of whom quickly moved their seats aside to allow for a man in a black uniform to see him. Merlin stood beside the man behind the desk. Apart from Merlin and himself, everyone in the room was in a uniform. A woman in a green field uniform, a man wearing a dark helmet and a large tan coat, a man wearing a black overcoat and cap (not too different from the man behind the desk), he had a friendly smile on his face, all the others had seemed to be more sincere. There was a man in a dark khaki uniform with a cap (with a look of arrogance on his face), a man wearing a bright orange-yellow uniform with a white hood and scarf and two others in the corner of the room. The ones in the corner made Sora a bit uneasy. One was a military man in a similar uniform as the woman. His face was covered with scars and had a very unfriendly aura about him. The other was considerably taller than most in the room and wore what seemed like a tunic of religious significance, he had a look of sincerity but also of suspicion. The man behind the desk was clearly the leader; his cap was pointed and was topped with a skull with wings. He seemed be looking him over with curiosity, as if he were expecting someone else. Everyone was looking at Sora in silence and question.

"Welcome back, Sora," Merlin finally broke the silence. Sora sighed with relief.

"Merlin, it's good to see you again," he said with a smile. "What's happened? Is it the Heartless?"

"I'm afraid so, my boy," Merlin sighed. "Oh, yes. Allow me to introduce you to the new editions to the fight," Merlin said, his mood lightening. "This is Commissar Ciaphas Cain, the leader of Imperial Guard," Merlin explained. He went on to introduce everyone in the room, each nodded respectively. "This is the keyblade bearer himself, Sora," Merlin finished, motioning to Sora open handed for the officers. Sora's couldn't stop himself from blushing.

"Honored to meet, Sora," said Cain. "Your reputation precedes you, the locals hail you as a hero worth of a Space Marine," he said. Sora could see he meant that as a compliment and thanked him. "Oh, I imagine you haven't met the Astartes yet," Cain correctly assumed. "Not a problem, I'll be briefing them shortly; you are welcome to join me. I'm certain they will be interested in meeting you."

"Sure thing," replied Sora, trying very hard to sound positive and not awkward. Cain took it as a prompt to continue.

"I just finished briefing the staff on how we intend to proceed," explained Cain. "I trust you're as anxious to get into the fight as we are. But it will be much more than the enemies you've faced before," said Cain. Sora looked at him in question. "Merlin will fill you in on the forces of Chaos, you may feel free to ask the guardsmen and Astartes for more detailed instructions." The door opened behind Sora.

"Welcome back, Sora. It's been a while," a familiar voice said behind him. Sora's face lit up.

"Leon, Cloud!" Sora cried as he spun around and saw his two friends and former comrades.

"Good to see you again," said Cloud, his face showing little emotion. "Commissar, we've broken up the fight," he said to Cain. "The two space marines had met before on another world, some old grudge. The other marines cooperated in breaking the fight up," he explained.

"Well done, both of you," said Cain. "I'll leave you to have a word with your friends, Sora. I'll be off to address the space marines, you'll find me out in the camp," he said with a polite not. The officers all came to attention, Sora did as Cloud and Leon; moved off to the side. Cain passed them all without a word. The other officers filed out behind him, except for Thrax, Land and Mira. Each officer regarded Sora with a nod as they passed, except Schaeffer; who settled for a glare. Mira approached Sora.

"Good to meet you, lad," she said. "You'll find me and the other officers in the camp, I'd appreciate any information you can give me and my men on these Heartless," she said. She was very pretty, but her voice was strong.

"No, problem," said Sora with smirk, he'd decided he liked her. She returned with a weak but sincere smile and exited the room. Col. Land approached Sora with a smile and an outstretched hand.

"An honor to meet you, Sora," he said. Sora accepted his hand; the handshake was firm but not over exaggerated. "As Lieutenant Mira said, you'll find me and my men in the camp. My men are not much for conversation but, if you have any questions at all about the Imperial Guard or the enemies of our world you may feel free to ask me. I'm certain the Commissar will be glad to answer any questions you may have for him as well. He is generally soft spoken, but is a most proficient commander," Land explained. Sora decided he liked him too, he seemed less formal and more open.

"Thank you," said Sora. "I'll be sure to stop by shortly."

"Excellent!" replied Land. "It may take some time for you to tell the guard units apart, you'll recognize mine though. My men will be the only ones constantly wearing gas masks," he finished with smile. Land gave a sharp salute, which Sora returned awkwardly; trying not to be as over the top as he was. Cloud and Leon both returned his salute as well. Land left the room. Thrax stepped forward.

"You'll find Col. Land to be very different from the soldiers he commands," said Thrax. "His own guard unit considers him to be unorthodox and unprofessional, but his results speak for themselves," he explained. He went on to explain that he was a member of the Inquisition, his job was to root out heretics and traitors within the Imperial forces. "I also look forward to your descriptions and recollections of the heartless; Merlin has explained to me that you experienced quite the ordeal in the past. But I will lead you to your friends for now. Please do join me in the camp though, there are many who'd love to meet you and one space marine I'd love for you to meet," he finished. Sora complied with a nod. Thrax left the room.

"Well, they're an interesting bunch," Sora said with a grin. That had gone much smoother than Sora thought it would. He was afraid there had been a hostile takeover. "Where did they come from?" he asked. Merlin explained to him that they came from a distant world just barely within range of kingdom hearts and that they were all hardened soldiers who had faced nightmarish monstrosities, even worse and more numerous than the heartless. The heartless had made an alliance with the forces of Chaos and they were on their way to kingdom hearts, to once again try to conquer it and claim it as their own. "Are you sure we can trust them?" asked Sora.

"I hope so," said Merlin. "The world they are from is a truly dark and loathsome place, one big 40,000 year old mess!" Merlin exclaimed. "But the ones who have been brought to us, by and large, seem to be honorable."

"They definitely have the numbers and firepower to take on Chaos," said Leon. "But Chaos and the heartless combined are another story. They'll need our help as much as we need theirs." Just then the door opened behind them and in stepped a guardsmen in a khaki uniform, carrying a silver tray with a tea pot and four cups. As he passed Sora's eyes teared up, a strong and unpleasant odor assaulted his nose. Sora pinched his nose, but stopped himself from grunting in disgust. The guardsman put the tray down on the Commissar's desk.

"Gunner Jurgen, reporting sir," he said, turning to Sora. "The Commissar passed me in the passageway. You may help yourself to some tea if you like. You'll find me in kitchen, I'll show you to your room. Sora nodded, having let go of his nose.

"Thank you, Jurgen," Sora replied with a forced smile. Jurgen nodded and exited the room.

"That one is rather odorous, but he makes a very splendid tea," said Merlin as he poured himself a cup of hot green fluid. "You should try some, it's actually quite good." Sora considered giving it a try.

"Sora!" an all too familiar quacking voice hissed from the other end of the room. The door to the main frame was opened and a short white duck in a blue sailors outfit stood stunned in the doorway. Donald was joined a second later by Goofy.

"Sora, it's you!" cried Goofy.

"Donald, Goofy!" Sora shouted. He ran to them and knelt on the floor to embrace both of them. He laughed with joy, his two best friends laughed with him. Sora couldn't help but let a tear escape his eye. A sudden jolt of energy surged through his body, forcing him to step back and hold out his right hand. With a blast of white light, the keyblade appeared in his hand. He paused in awe at the weapon that had become an extension of himself years before. It shined brightly in the light of the room.

"The keyblade!" Goofy exclaimed.

"You know what that means?" Donald asked rhetorically. Sora spun the keyblade in his hand, bringing it up over his head and downward in a chopping motion.

"It means the game is on!" answered Sora.

"Are Riku and Kairi here with you?" asked Goofy after a moment's pause. Sora froze, he nearly dropped the keyblade. He had forgotten what had happened. Riku tried to kill him, and that monster that appeared by the cliff. His eyes widened with terror. Goofy and Donald stepped back at the look on his face.

"They're not here?" he asked, though he knew the answer. The others looked at him blankly. Where were Riku and Kairi? What could have happened to them?


	8. Chapter 8

Author's notes: Hello loyal fans. I'm truly sorry about how long it took for this. I hope you all enjoyed that last chapter, don't worry there will be more action and battle to come. Now to find out what's become of Riku and Kairi. Enjoy and please review.

Kairi awoke, chilled to the bone. She wiped snow off her face and peered around her environment. She was in the middle of a snow covered forest. It was night; her only light source was the snow around her. A strong wind howled all around her, blanketing her face with more snow. She shivered, wearing only a thin summer dress. Panic struck her heart. Where was she? How did she get here? She pulled herself to her feet.

"Sora!" she cried out. Only the howling wind answered. "Riku!" she shouted as loud as she could. The wind howled so loudly she could barely hear her own voice. She looked left and right, trees surrounded her on all sides but one, a narrow path lead deeper into the seemingly endless forest. She didn't like it, but it was her only choice. Unless she wanted to curl up in the snow and freeze to death. She began walking, her arms grasping each other. She was starting to lose feeling in her limbs. She tried to run, hoping it would warm her up, but her feet struggled through the snow. She came to a drop in the terrain, it wasn't very steep at all but she lost her footing and fell to her knees. She rolled down the hill and landed in a snow drift.

Kairi weakly brushed the snow from her face but couldn't bring herself to sit up. She heard another howling noise, not the wind and very close. She painfully looked up to see a pack of wolves approaching her.

"Help me," she silently wished. "Someone, please help me," she finished. The unmistakable sound of a gunshot cracked through the air. Kairi let her head fall back in the snow, a few faint whimpering sounds were heard and soon the sound of hooves approached her. Her mind faded into darkness.

"Are you alright, girl?" a friendly voice asked her. A blinding light kept her from seeing the man's face. All went dark again. Kairi briefly awoke to the sensation of riding on the back of a galloping horse. The forest was speeding past her. She looked up into a man's face, she almost mistook him for Sora. His hair was brown, but longer and straight. His eyes were a deep blue, like Sora's and reflected kindness. He was very handsome. She blacked out again, but awoke to feel herself being cradled in the man's arms. She felt the opening of a large door and a burst of warm air.

"Bell! Mrs. Potts!" the man's voice shouted. Kairi could see she was now in a large entrance hall leading to a grand staircase. "Bring blankets to the lounge and boil some water, quickly!" he said. Darkness engulfed her again. She awoke again in a large cushioned chair and covered with blankets. A warm fire was blazing in a fireplace in front of the chair. "I found her in the forest, she was lying in a snowdrift and was about to be attacked by wolves," the man's voice came from outside the room.

"Thank goodness you found her, dear," said the gentle voice of a woman.

"Very good but is it the best idea to keep her in your chair, Master?" said another man's voice, in a strange accent.

"Cogsworth!" the man's voice exclaimed in disgust. "There are considerably more important issues than that!"

"What I mean is, Master," the other man's voice broke in. "Shouldn't we prepare a room for her," he finished.

"Oh," the man's voice replied. "Yes, definitely," he answered. "Sorry Cogsworth."

"It's quite alright, Master," said the other man. "I'll have a room prepared for her at once," the sound of footsteps echoed from outside the room.

"Darling, relax," said the woman. "You brought her inside in plenty of time, Mrs. Potts says she'll be fine by morning," she finished. A deep sigh was heard.

"I'm sorry, Bell. I was worried is all," he said.

"It's alright," she replied. "I seem to remember hearing that you were equally excited the last time a desperate traveler came in from the cold and rested in your chair," she said with a warm chuckle. The man sighed.

"I put her there," he grumbled. Another warm giggle and a kiss were heard.

"I'm only teasing you, my love," she said. "I'm going to check on her, I'll stay with her till Mrs. Potts gets back. Wait for me, my brave hero," she said, her voice betraying flirtation. Another kiss was heard and the echo of footsteps followed. Another set of footsteps sounded, coming closer to her. A beautiful woman with brown hair and a green dress came into view from behind the chair. Her hazel eyes looked her over with concern. Kairi tried to greet her but only a spasm of coughs came out. "Don't worry, child," the woman said, coming forward to place her hand on Kairi's head. "You're safe now, everything is going to be fine," she finished. Kairi believed her. Exhaustion overtook her and she fell into a peaceful sleep.

Riku awoke in a hospital bed, inside a room walled with metal bulkheads. It looked like the inside of a ship of some sort. He scanned the area there were about five other beds in the room with his, only one was occupied. In it was a sleeping soldier in a green uniform. Riku figured he was in the sickbay of a military ship. A man dressed in a white doctor's coat entered the room from the entrance hatch.

"Oh good, you're awake," said the doctor. "I was worried you'd be out for quite some time. He said. "Well my initial instinct is to assume you are a local of the planet below, but seeing as how there have been no reports of missing persons down on the planet and the only transports to come back up here to the ship have been to pick up more troopers going down to the planet surface, I'm afraid I'll just have to assume you to be a stole away." Riku sat up.

"Where am I?" asked Riku.

"You are onboard a battleship of the Imperial fleet, but you already knew that," the doctor answered snidely. "The question is; what will become of you?" he said. Riku tensed, he could probably take this guy on if he had to. But taking on the crew of an entire ship, a space ship if he'd heard right, was another story. Riku realized what had happened. He was somewhere inside kingdom hearts and he was dropped onboard this ship. The doctor didn't realize he was from another world, the doctor probably figured he was from a planet the ship had visited recently and stole away onboard the ship; whatever the reason. His chances of reasoning with the doctor were slim; he decided it was best to play along.

"Well?" asked Riku. The doctor smiled.

"Well, being that I am responsible for you now, there are two things that I could do with you. One, I could have you locked in the brig; which will likely lead to your death, either by fellow prisoners or if the captain decides to eject you out into space to save supplies," Riku tensed again, taking his chances with fighting his way out was starting to sound tempting. "Or Two, I could let Col. Schaeffer of the Last Chancers Penal guard unit, know that he has a new recruit. The Last Chancers do have the highest mortality rate in the entire Imperial Guard, but who knows; you may very well impress Schaeffer enough to earn his pardon," he finished with a crooked smile. Riku didn't like the idea of being pressed into military service, but liked the idea of imprisonment even less. He also knew that if he was here, that meant one thing; the heartless were back. That would explain the demon attack and the voice in his mind. It was a dark spirit that lay dormant in his mind for years after he was trapped in the darkness with King Mickey. The things he'd nearly done. Riku shook that thought from his mind. Sora and Kairi were here too and if he wanted to find them, he needed to stay alive.

"Last Chancers, it is then," he said with a grave tone.

"Good man, Lt. Kage will see you to the hab unit," the doctor said. A man stepped into the doorway, a tall lean, muscular man with graying hair and several scars on his face. He wore a brown T-Shirt, green military trousers and combat boots. He looked Riku over and nodded approvingly.

"Welcome to the Last Chancers rookie," he said, his voice gruff and throaty. "Just keep your trap shut and come with me. The Colonel will tell us where to die soon enough. Riku stood up and followed the man out the door. He had a bad feeling about this. It didn't get any better when he reached the hab unit. It was a wide empty hanger bay filled with soldiers, many of them out of uniform, most of them eyeing him in question. Kage led Riku past a row of sleeping bags, most of them with an unfriendly looking trooper laying on them. Riku never turned his head, but he could feel the trooper's eyes on him. The doctor had said it was a "penal" unit. Riku's fellow soldiers/inmates thought he was fresh meat. Kage stopped at an empty sleeping bag near the bulkhead in the back of the compartment. "This here'll be your rack, rookie," he said with a nod to the tattered old sleeping bag, which had clearly seen many users before. "I'll be back in a few minutes with your uniform. I'll make the best guess I can about your size, you'll just have to make due." Riku nodded and Kage was on his way without another word.

Riku looked down at the sleeping bag again; he missed his bed already, and his mom and… Riku clenched his fists tightly, and squeezed his eyes shut. He could not afford to think about them, not now. All he could do now is stay alive, and hope that that demon was gone for good. Riku opened his eyes but kept his fists clenched. He turned from his sleeping bag to find himself surrounded by his new comrades in arms. All of them were grinning menacingly, most of them with their fists or knives at the ready. Riku smirked.

Kage got the uniform items he needed without a problem. He grabbed a pair of the smallest boot sizes they had, a handful of brown t-shirts, and a few small trousers. He stuffed them all in a rucksack and was on his way back down the passage way towards the hab unit in a matter of minutes. Kage hoped the kid's squad wasn't too hard on him. The kid looked like a tough one, but men from that squad could get pretty rough on rookies. He could have given him to a much worse squad, but Kage had a good feeling about this kid. He also had a natural distain for bullies, so throwing the kid into a gang of them was out of the question for him. Kage opened the hanger bay door, he expected he'd have to break a few jaws and noses before helping the kid back to his feet. Kage was surprised that most of the men were on their feet and looking towards the back of the compartment. Kage hoped he the kid was alright. As he made his way down the line of racks he'd past earlier, he noticed that no one was cheering or make jokes about the beating the rookie was taking. He froze when he came within a few yards of the kid's rack. A dozen guardsmen were laying on the floor, beaten bloody and writhing with pain. The rest of the guardsmen were staring silently in a mixture of awe and terror at the teen-aged boy standing over them; the kid. He stood there with his arms crossed and a glare that could melt the bulkhead behind him on his face. Kage smirked. He liked this kid.


End file.
